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Feb 5, 2010

Fortune teller freed on bail

HONG KONG - THE Hong Kong fortune teller suspected of forging a will giving him the multibillion-dollar estate of his ex-lover, Nina Wang, Asia's richest woman, was freed on Friday on US$640,000 (S$909,013) bail after more than a day in police custody. Feng shui expert Tony Chan Chun-chuen was arrested on Wednesday in connection with document forgery. Another will left Wang's fortune to a charity she and her late husband founded. A Hong Kong court on Tuesday sided with the charity, ruling that Chan's will was a forgery.

Chan was freed early on Friday after posting a HK$5 million ($640,000) bail and is required to report back in March, Hong Kong police said in a statement. Police spokesman Anne Lam said he has not been charged. 'There is still a lot of investigation work to be done,' Deputy Commissioner of Police Peter Yam told reporters on Thursday, declining to give further details on the case.

The will dispute fascinated Hong Kongers with its juicy revelations of Chan's affair with Wang, a developer who was nicknamed 'Little Sweetie' for her girlish outfits and pigtail hairdo. Chan said during the trial he and Wang were in love, sharing a passion for cooking, travel, model helicopters and feng shui - the Chinese art of arranging objects and choosing dates to improve luck. The judge in the will dispute described the 50-year-old former bartender as an opportunist who knew how to ingratiate himself with others. Chan says he is innocent and will appeal the ruling. -- AP