HONG KONG: The signature purported to be that of Nina Wang on what is alleged to be her 2006 will probably was forged, Chinachem Charitable Foundation handwriting expert Robert Radley told the Court of First Instance yesterday.

The 2006 document names fung shui master Tony Chan as heir to the estate of Asia's wealthiest woman.

Radley testified on the 21st day of the probate trial that the signature "Nina TH Wang" on the 2006 will has 15 discrepancies from 125 sample signatures he examined.

"It is my conclusion that Nina Wang signed this will in an uncharacteristic and unusual fashion," Radley said.

The bottom of the letter "T" is more horizontal in that will, while the letter "H" is written as a "y".

"The forger may have misunderstood what he is copying," Radley told the court.

The writing style of "Wang" is also inconsistent with signature samples he examined. "The whole rhythm of the strokes (in the 2006 will) is wrong," he said.

"It does not reflect natural pen movement," Radley added.

The circle of letter "g" is more round. The signature is escalating, and not written on a base line. The dot of the letter "i" is rounded on the alleged will while it is a dash on Wang's sample signatures.

Radley said the one who made the signature is a skilled penman.

Radley also testified there was insufficient evidence to show that the signature of one of the attesting witnesses of the will Ng Shung-mo was forged.

Ian Mill, counsel for Tony Chan, questioned whether the discrepancies in the signature might be accidental or rare anomalies.

Radley replied that the occurrence of a rarity may be repeated, but he could not distinguish a rarity from an accidental in the signature.

Mill also noted that there are 48 similarities between Wang's signature in the 2006 will and the signatures in the samples and asked Radley why he did not stress those.

Radley told the court that it is not common practice to stress similarities, and differences are more significant than similarities.

"Any copying process will show a large number of similarities," Radley said. "But when you find rarities, finding so many especially, it becomes improbable."

Mill said in response: "the presence of a few accidentals should not be interpreted as denoting the presence of a dissimilarity."

Radley replied: "We are not talking about one or two differences. It is the sheer volume of them. The accumulation of overwhelming uncharacteristic features means it has fallen out of the normal range of variation."

Mill then asked Radley to look at other signatures and evaluate on the spot whether they are authentic. Radley declined.

Mill charged Radley held a preconception before examining the document that the signature was forged, since Radley already had read the statements of attesting witnesses Winfield Wong and Ng Shung-mo.

"This is simply a ridiculous suggestion," Radley said.

Mill said there are a myriad of features that can affect the appearance of a signature, including the penmen's mood, and smoothness of the writing surface.

He also suggested that Wang's writing deteriorated after she was sick and admitted to hospital.

Radley will continue giving evidence as the hearing continues today.

(HK Edition 06/17/2009 page1)