Tycoon's daughter hits back at haters

Angeline and her husband Jedidiah Francis in a 2013 photo. - ST/FACEBOOK.

PETALING JAYA: Angeline Francis Khoo has hit back at her haters following news of her giving up her inheritance to marry the man her father, Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Khoo Kay Peng, had disapproved of.

Angeline, 34, is the daughter of Kay Peng and former Malaysian beauty queen Pauline Chai, who have since divorced.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Mail's You Magazine last week, Angeline said she is currently not on talking terms with her father because she married someone he did not approve of.

The fashion designer married her Caribbean-born data scientist Jedidiah Francis while studying at Oxford University in 2008.

In response to some of the 200 over comments over the story on The Star Online's Facebook page, Angeline clarified some of the facts.

To a question on why Angeline had defended Chai during the divorce proceedings and whether some sort of deal for money was struck, she said she was disowned by her father nine years ago, when she got married, and that her parents only started divorce proceedings four years later.

"Unfortunately, in circumstances involving family court, children are sometimes compelled to testify by the court.

"It was interesting that your first thought was that perhaps a 'deal was struck'; that doesn't seem like a very normal parent-children relationship to me, but perhaps we've had different life experiences which have shaped our world view," said Angeline.

To a comment by Facebook user that criticised Angeline for not knowing her father's net worth, Angeline said that it would be "rather odd" for any child to know their parents' net worth.

"Surely, on a scale of things you should care about where your parents are concerned, how much money they have is not relevant," she said.

The news article also garnered a number of racist comments, with some netizens making fun of Angeline's husband darker skin tone and looks. There were others who suggested that Francis looked Bangladeshi.

Many netizens, however, came to Angeline's defence, and hit back at the naysayers.