Former Malaysian beauty queen divorce case to be heard in British court

PETALING JAYA: Pauline Chai (pic), the estranged wife of Malaysian business tycoon Tan Sri Khoo Kay Peng, has successfully argued that her divorce case should be heard in a British court reported an English newspaper.

The Telegraph reported that Chai, 67, who was crowned Miss Malaysia 1969, is likely to be awarded a more generous settlement than if the case was heard in Malaysia.

In order to prove that she lived primarily in Britain, Chai had earlier this month told the court that she kept 700 of her 1,000 pairs of shoes in her £30mil (RM156mil) Hertfordshire mansion.

Khoo, 75, who is the Laura Ashley boss, contested Britain's jurisdiction and had filed his own divorce petition in Malaysia.

Neither Chai or Khoo who have five adult children together are British citizens. 

Justice Bodey was quoted by the Telegraph as saying said the battle had been "bitterly, tenaciously and hugely expensively fought".

He told the High Court that while both parties wanted a divorce, each thought they would get a "better financial outcome" if the hearing was held in their own jurisdiction.

"The issue is not the wife's physical presence but her motivation and whether she has made this jurisdiction the permanent centre of her interests," he was quoted by the Telegraph Saturday.

He said that while she was "inevitably self serving", he was satisfied that she was "genuinely" based in the UK.

"I reject the husband's case that she is here on a deceitful and false agenda," he was quoted as saying.

Bodey suspected that Chai had utilised "an element of hyperbole" when making her claims on her 1000 pairs of shoes.

"It is an awful lot of shoes and would take up an awful lot of space," he was quoted as saying.

Chai's claim is estimated at £200mil (RM1bil) and if successful, is potentially Britain's largest divorce settlement.

Chai was elated with the decision and said that the case confirmed the thriving English justice system.

“The people of England are unknowingly very fortunate indeed to have a legal system which is so utterly sound.

"I am pleased the Judge recognised my connection with this great country.

“I am so pleased that that I, my children and my shoes have found a home here,” she was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

Khoo is ranked 42nd on Malaysia's 50 richest list by US magazine Forbes.

According to Forbes, his net worth as at February this year is £190mil (RM987mil), though it is speculated his worth is closer to £500mil (RM2.6bil).

Chai filed for divorce in February last year, citing her husband's unreasonable behaviour.

She had accused him of being "very controlling", rationing her food and forbidding her from leaving their house without his permission.

Chai had previously said that she was not divorcing her husband for money, but to get away from a "violent" relationship, admitting that at one point she had locked herself in a back room.