FCMC 3297 / 2022

[2024] HKFC 158

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES NO. 3297 OF 2022

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DECISION
( Discovery )

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A. Introduction

1. This is the substantive hearing of the summons taken out by the Respondent ( “Wife”) on 22 February 2023 (“Discovery Summons”) seeking disclosure for both general ancillary relief and her s.17 MPPO summons filed on 30 June 2022 ( “s.17 Summons ”). The Petitioner (“Husband”) opposes to the Wife’s Discovery Summons.

2. The detailed questions/requests sought to be disclosed are listed in Annexure A (“Annex A”) to the Wife’s Discovery Summons, the main items of requests are as follows (see below for definitions):-

(1) RMB¥200M stakeheld by Lik Gor on behalf of the Husband (Request 1)

(2) Alleged Agreements with Fong - the YL Agreement & the Buyout Agreement (Requests 2 -3)

(3) Company charts, assets and liabilities, bank statements of Strength Power and Elite Wide (Requests 4 – 5, 27 - 29)

(4) Various documents relating to Strength Power and Elite Wide’s acquisition of Lands (Requests 6 - 23)

(5) General Ledger and bank statements of Merida (Requests 24 and 27)

(6) Husband’s bank statements (Requests 25 - 26)

(7) Various documents relating to insurance policies (Request 30)

(8) Documentary proof of two transfers of US$71,000 and US$70,200 to Husband’s sister and her daughter (Request 31)

(9) Safe deposit boxes with banks held by Husband, Merida, Strength Power, or Elite Wide (Request 32)

3. The Wife’s case is straight forward, in which she argues the items she sought to discover as relevant and necessary due to the Husband’s failure to make proper disclosure in his Form E and subsequent Answers thereby poses difficulty in ascertaining the matrimonial pot so that her case may move forward after 2 years since the parties filed their Form Es; in particularly as the various companies holding significant assets are all within the Husband’s control which the Wife suspects he may have disposed of or have embezzled funds.

B. Background and Procedural History

4. In order to understand and assess the relevancy of the bulk of the Wife’s requests for discovery, I set out a brief background of the parties, the family and the companies involved below.

5. The Wife is now 59 years old and the Husband is 68 years old. They married in 1983 and separated in 2016 [1] . During marriage, they have together started the family business in textiles and later on real estate investments, and amassed substantial wealth. It is not disputed that this case is described as a big money case. Their three children have all reache