Former Crown Resorts vice president of marketing Chua Eh Fong failed in her bid to recover years’ worth of interest on Chinese billionaire Huang Youlong’s AUD 60 million ($41.6 million) gambling debt, which he lost in Crown Perth back in 2015.
Hong Kong Court Rejects the Former VP of Marketing’s Bid
Hong Kong Deputy High Court Judge Alan Kwong dismissed Chua Eh Fong’s lawsuit seeking 24% annual interest on the debt that Huang had repaid to junket operator Suncity. She initially claimed that she had personally entered into two oral credit agreements with Huang, which entitled her to charge 24% annual interest on the outstanding amounts once repayment became overdue.
However, the judge found Chua’s account lacked “basic commercial common sense” and rejected Huang’s medical excuse for not testifying as unreliable. Chua was also ordered to pay legal costs, bringing to a close a protracted dispute arising from the 2015 gambling losses.
The judge found that Chua’s own WeChat messages from years before the litigation contradicted her claims. He also noted that she did not raise the interest claim during a January 2016 settlement meeting attended by Suncity founder Alvin Chau. The judge described Chua’s assertions in the proceedings as “afterthoughts.”
Huang Accumulated the Debt in Just Four Days
It all started in February 2015 when Huang visited Crown Perth while already carrying significant debts with other casinos. After Crown declined to extend him further credit, Chua arranged a AUD 40 million (almost $27 million) credit facility through junket operator Suncity. However, Huang lost the funds within 48 hours and later obtained an additional AUD 20 million (about $14 million) under the same arrangement. He lost that sum within two days as well.
To address the outstanding debt, Huang issued three checks of approximately AUD 11 million ($7.6 million) each, although one was dishonored. He also transferred a Hong Kong mansion valued at AUD 13.3 million ($9.2 million) to Chua as partial repayment. He also gave her AUD 950,000 (about $658,000) as a wedding gift in recognition of her assistance in handling his debts. By late 2019, Huang had repaid the full AUD 60 million owed to Suncity, which subsequently issued a deed of release.
In other news from Hong Kong, the city’s authorities arrested 125 people suspected of running a gambling ring linked to the triads.