Lawyer claims ‘no knowledge’ of full asset value in Malaysian billionaire Lim Goh Tong family will dispute
The lawyer who prepared the will being challenged in an inheritance dispute filed by two granddaughters of Genting Group’s late billionaire founder Lim Goh Tong said she did so without full knowledge of the assets involved, Vietnam-based VN Express International reported yesterday, Sunday 26 April 2026.
The lawyer, Datuk Low Beng Choo, drafted the final will for the RM1.6 billion (US$410.4 million) estate of the Genting founder’s late daughter, Puan Lim Siew Kim, and also serves as the sole trustee of the Dikim Foundation, which was designated to receive 70% of her residuary estate.
Low is named as a defendant in a lawsuit contesting the will, brought by two of Siew Kim’s daughters, and was testifying as a defense witness earlier this week.
During a hearing on Wednesday, the plaintiffs’ lawyer asked whether she agreed that Dikim was the primary beneficiary of Siew Kim’s estate.
New Straits Times reported she replied: "I cannot agree with you because I have no knowledge of the entire assets and liabilities of the deceased."
When further questioned about drafting the will without knowing the full extent of the deceased’s assets, she confirmed: "Yes, I drafted it because I do not need to know."
Dikim was set up in 1983 and named after Siew Kim and her late husband. Low previously told the court that she has been a trustee at the foundation since 2 June 2022, and that the foundation’s other two trustees, Siew Kim and another person, had passed away.
She said none of Siew Kim’s family members were appointed as trustees under the third will and that she has never been involved in the foundation’s operations. She was unaware of whether Dikim had ceased operating as a charitable organization since 2010. At present there is no board of trustees overseeing its affairs.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer pointed out in proceedings last Thursday that Siew Kim’s only son and a beneficiary, Encik Marcus Chan Jau Chwen, had asked about Dikim and who was managing it during a will reading in September 2022.
According to The Edge Malaysia, Low did not respond despite already being a trustee at the time, the plaintiffs’ lawyer said, suggesting that Low had not been forthcoming about her trustee role during the meeting.
Low responded, "It is not for me to answer,"
She explained that the question was not directed at her but at the solicitor leading the session. Low also confirmed that Siew Kim’s two earlier wills were not disclosed to those present at the September session.
Trial adjourned
The proceedings had been set to continue last Friday, but the plaintiffs’ lawyer sought a postponement with the consent of all defendants, citing time constraints as the court was occupied with another ongoing trial.
He added that the next phase of cross-examination would focus on the main will and would take a considerable amount of time.
The application was granted and the trial was scheduled to resume on 8 June. The lawsuit, which the court started hearing in February, contests the validity of Siew Kim’s will.
Siew Kim was the youngest daughter of Goh Tong, the late founder of the Genting business empire and Malaysia’s third richest man at the time of his death in October 2007, according to Forbes.
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| Malaysian rags-to-riches tycoon Lim Goh Tong at his office in Kuala Lumpur on 31 December 2003. Photo by Reuters |
Siew Kim passed away due to cancer in July 2022 and was survived by a son and three daughters, including the plaintiffs, Chan T'Shiao Li and Kimberly Chan T'Shiao Miin.
Under her final will, T'Shiao Li and Kimberly were left cash bequests of RM900,000 and RM100,000, respectively, from her RM1.6 billion estate.Their two other siblings, meanwhile, received properties, the contents of safe deposit boxes and company shares.
The two sisters later found out that two earlier wills existed, dated 2Nov 2, 2021, and Apr 11, 2022, with the 2021 one initially allocating them RM10 million each.
They contend that having three wills drafted within a short span that outline markedly different distributions of the estate constitutes "suspicious circumstances" and did not reflect their mother’s true intentions or sound judgment at the time.
Low, who prepared two of the three wills, had earlier denied involvement in the alleged "suspicious circumstances."
She maintained that the final will faithfully reflects Siew Kim’s wishes, despite dissatisfaction from her daughters.
Other defendants in the case include the plaintiffs’ brother Marcus and the estate’s executor and trustee, Malcolm Fernandez and Chan Mei Yee.
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