Not wanting to step down from his position as chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties(SHKP), Walter Kwok petitioned the High Court to stop the board from forcibly removing him, and an injunction order was issued just an hour before yesterday's board meeting.

The meeting was scheduled for 2pm, and an agenda item called for the appointment of the Kwok brothers' mother, Kwong Siu-hing, as chairwoman to replace Walter Kwok, the eldest of three brothers.

But the High Court injunction forcibly shelved those plans. The meeting lasted just one hour.

Kwok said any vote by board members to remove him is in breach of an agreement reached in February, when he applied for a leave of absence.

The lingering family dispute was publicly unveiled in an application filed yesterday in which Walter Kwok said there have been repeated disagreements among the brothers since May 2007.

The disagreements include the decision of Thomas Kwok and Raymond Kwok, both vice-chairmen and managing directors of the company, to enter into a lease of the International Commerce Centre without observing the proper corporate formalities, the application says.

There is also an argument being made about whether Walter Kwok's mental health is well enough for him to continue serving as chairman.

The application said Raymond informed Walter in January that a doctor at Stanford University, surnamed Maldonado, had diagnosed Walter as suffering from bipolar affective disorder, and said that he was unfit to work as the company chairman and chief executive.

During a February board meeting this year, an agreement was reached that Walter would apply for a leave of absence, but would resume his duties should his mental health become satisfactory after three months.

The original diagnosis, according to the application, was based on misinformation. Walter said he consulted a number of medical practitioners who concluded that he was not suffering from any mental disorder, and he presented the findings to his mother on April 30.

Thomas and Raymond had prevented Walter from presenting the medical reports during a May 8 board meeting by adjourning the meeting until yesterday, the application says.

In an official statement after the meeting, the company said that the injunction order came so quickly that the company was unable to make any declaration for instant. The company is seeking legal advice, and the statement stressed that the injunction doesn't mean any final judgments have been made.

Aside from saying the meeting was short and that the injunction wouldn't affect daily operations of the company, SHKP Non-Executive Director Eric Li declined to comment further after the meeting.

Castor Pang, a strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial, said that the family dispute will not put pressure on the share prices of the company, as management is taking care of regular operations.

But he noted that there may be a little impact on investor confidence regarding the company. "The share price of the company is lagged," he said, "and it's unlikely to rise sharply clouded by the dispute."

(HK Edition 05/16/2008 page2)