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Chai v Khoo
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Ayesha Vardag and Catherine Maguire Vardags
On 6 April 2017 Bodey J handed down judgment in the financial proceedings in the case of
Chai v Khoo over 4 years since the wife Ms Chai filed her divorce petition in the English courts seeking to bring the parties’ 43-year marriage to an end.
Hard-fought litigation ensued with the husband Malaysian business tycoon Dr Khoo filing competing Malaysian proceedings and disputing the jurisdiction of the English courts in respect of the divorce. Nearly 2 years and several further petitions (in England and Malaysia) down the line Bodey J determined in
a final jurisdiction hearing in October 2014 that the English courts had jurisdiction in respect of the divorce. The husband unsuccessfully appealed this finding to the Court of Appeal who in December 2015 dismissed his appeal unanimously leaving the wife free to pursue a financial award in the English courts.
Background
The parties were both by origin Malaysian. The husband remained of Malaysian domicile and citizenship whereas the wife had Australian and Canadian citizenship. Following their marriage in 1970 in...
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