http://iamyourgurupntay.blogspot.com/2013/03/rm2-billion-after-pauline-chai-divorce.html
Laura Ashley chief's 'prisoner wife' in £500m divorce battle: Estranged spouse says husband rationed her food and wouldn't let her leave without permission
- Pauline Chai is seeking half her husband's fortune in what could be Britain's largest settlement
- Khoo Key Peng bought 40 per cent stake in Laura Ashely in 1998
- Dr Peng is ranked as the 36th richest man in Malaysia
- He wants the case to be heard in Malaysia where his wife is likely to receive less of his fortune
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Territory: Dr Peng, 74 hired Nigella Lawson's divorce lawyer and wants the case to be heard in Malaysia, where his wife is likely to receive less of his fortune
The estranged wife of the billionaire chairman of Laura Ashley is divorcing her ‘very controlling’ husband – and wants a £500million settlement.
Former beauty queen Pauline Chai claims Khoo Kay Peng, one of Malaysia’s richest men, made her feel ‘like a prisoner’ on their 1,000-acre country estate, and even rationed her food.
She is seeking half his fortune at London’s High Court. Lawyers believe she could be awarded up to £500million – the largest divorce settlement ever seen in Britain.
Miss Chai, 66, will claim in court that her husband would not let her leave the grounds without permission.
The couple have five children from their 43-year marriage. According to Miss Chai, she and her husband have not spoken to each other for 12 months.
Since their estrangement, she claims they have lived in separate mansions on their £30million estate, Rossway Park, near Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.
Bizarrely, each has their own team of Gurkha guards to protect their part of the estate – although it is unclear if this is for security reasons or to keep the other one at bay.
Miss Chai lives in the main 15-bedroom house, while Dr Khoo, 74, occupies a five-bedroom manor house nearby.
The main house is filled with Laura Ashley furniture, which Miss Chai insists is a reflection of her love for England, and not a tribute to her husband.
The sprawling grounds include two custom-built lakes which cost £60,000 each and a collection of exotic animals including alpacas.
Miss Chai claims she was not allowed to leave the house without her husband’s permission and once received an email from his staff saying she was allowed to spend only £50 a week on food.
She explained: ‘It said fruits were allowed and vegetables were allowed but I wasn’t allowed to eat certain things that I wanted.
‘My daughter said to me that I was being treated like a servant. I think she nailed it.’
Miss Chai, who was crowned Miss Malaysia 1969, claims she had to rely on her bodyguards to buy make-up for her.
She says she is now enjoying her freedom and has made new friends through her local church.
She said: ‘I felt controlled and isolated. But now I feel happy. During our marriage he was very controlling but now I feel different. I feel very free.’
Dr Khoo, who is ranked the 36th richest man in Malaysia by US magazine Forbes, bought a 40 per cent stake in Laura Ashley in 1998.
The clothing and interior firm now has sales of £286million a year.
Trapped: Pauline Chai, pictured at home in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, said she was treated like a servant in her marriage. She claims he banned her from eating certain foods
He also runs a global investment company, Malaysian United Industries.
Dr Khoo wants the divorce case to be heard in Malaysia, where his wife would be entitled to only a fraction of the settlement she could receive in Britain.
But Miss Chai is pushing for the case to be heard in England and will argue she has not been a Malaysian citizen for 30 years.
She said: ‘I love England and everything English. I’ve been living here for years. I want English justice because it is fair. That’s all I’m asking for.’
The couple are believed to own multi-million-pound homes in Australia, Malaysia and Canada.
They moved to Wentworth Park, Surrey, in 1995, before relocating to Rossway three years later.
Miss Chai said the move meant that, ‘having lived in three [former] English colonies, I could finally live in the real thing – England’.
The case will see a battle between two of Britain’s top divorce lawyers. Ayesha Vardag, known as the ‘diva of divorce’, is representing Miss Chai, while Fiona Shackleton, who has been nicknamed the ‘steel magnolia’ for her charm and determination, is acting for Dr Khoo.
Fortune: Dr Peng bought 40 per cent of Laura Ashley in 1998. His wife's mansion is filled with furniture from the company. She says this is a tribute to her love of England, not to her husband
Mrs Shackleton acted on behalf of Nigella Lawson during her recent ‘quickie’ divorce from Charles Saatchi.
She also represented Prince Charles during his divorce from Diana, Princess of Wales.
Ahead of forthcoming preliminary hearings, Miss Vardag said: ‘This is the husband trying desperately to forum-shop [find a court which would give him the best result] himself out of English courts into Malaysia where Pauline has not lived since her youth and of which she is not even a citizen.
‘The English courts would share out the assets this couple built up over more than 40 years of marriage with five children on the basis of fairness. The Malaysian courts would give Pauline much less.’
Miss Chai lodged a petition for divorce in London in February on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2384592/Laura-Ashley-chiefs-prisoner-wife-500m-divorce-battle-Estranged-spouse-says-husband-rationed-food-wouldnt-let-leave-permission.html#ixzz2bFCSMbBt
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