A wealthy Sydney businessman who feared he was suffering heart trouble scribbled a note in his diary declaring 'The above can also count as the Will' before dying two days later, sparking a bitter family war over a multimillion-dollar fortune spanning Australia and China.
asserted
above → fear → Australia
Justice Stephen Free ruled the May 22, 2023, diary entry was Jianping Shen's valid final will, awarding 40 per cent of his estate to his carer and de facto partner Eva Wu, and 60 per cent plus all shares in the family company structure to his favoured grandson, Gordon Dang.
uncertain
entry → rule → grandson
The judgment rejected claims by Mr Shen's only daughter, Yun Shen, that the diary note had been forged, with the court describing that theory as 'bordering on the absurd'.
uncertain
court → reject → absurd
'The proposition that Ms Wu snuck away from the attention of others and had the physical and emotional composure to perform a sophisticated and time-consuming forgery, without being detected by any of the other people in the house, is entirely implausible,' Justice Free wrote.
asserted
Free → sneak → house
Mr Shen was 77 when he died suddenly of cardiac arrest on May 24, 2023, leaving behind a sprawling estate that included Sydney, Shanghai and Beijing properties, luxury Mercedes vehicles, company interests and valuable Chinese assets.
uncertain
that → die → properties
Court documents revealed the overseas assets included a Chinese company holding more than $13million in compensation payments, a listed share portfolio worth about $5million and substantial cash holdings.
asserted
assets → reveal → payments
Justice Free noted ownership of the Chinese company was transferred into Ms Shen's name in 2024 and the share portfolio was later transferred or sold.
asserted
portfolio → note → 2024
Freezing orders were subsequently obtained in both Australia and China to prevent further dealings with some of the assets while the inheritance battle played out.
Jianping Shen's favoured grandson Gordon Dang (pictured) won 60 per cent of his grandfather's vast fortune which came with the proviso he change his surname to Shen
NSW Supreme Court Justice Stephen Free ruled the May 22, 2023, diary entry (pictured) was Jianping Shen's valid final will
Mr Shen left behind a sprawling estate that included Sydney, Shanghai and Beijing properties, including this home pictured in the sought-after enclave of Connells Point
The judge also found Gordon, Ms Shen and her de facto partner Lei Dang returned to Mr Shen's home the day after his death and removed documents from a locked filing cabinet.
uncertain
Gordon → obtain → cabinet
When Ms Wu later returned, she found the cabinet had been prised open and emptied.
asserted
cabinet → return → ?
At the centre of the dispute was a handwritten diary entry Mr Shen made on May 22 after recording that he had begun suffering 'physical discomfort' and suspected he may have heart disease.
uncertain
he → make → disease
The note stated that 60 per cent of his assets, as well as the family trust, should go to his 'eldest nephew', a reference the judge later found was intended to mean grandson Gordon, while 40 per cent should go to 'the last person taking care of' him.
asserted
cent → state → him
It concluded with the extraordinary line: 'The Will shall be done in the next few days.
asserted
Will → conclude → days
The above can also count as the Will!'
asserted
above → count → Will
Ms Shen and Gordon, whose LinkedIn lists him as a full-time consultant at professional services firm Deloitte based in Sydney, initially argued the entry had been forged, prompting a battle of handwriting experts and months of evidence about Mr Shen's final years.
asserted
entry → list → years
Justice Free accepted evidence from forensic handwriting specialist Kiki Wong, a former Scotland Yard expert, that the diary entry had been written by Mr Shen.
asserted
entry → accept → Shen
The inheritance fight was the latest chapter in a long-running dispute between Mr Shen and his daughter.
asserted
fight → run → Shen
Before his death, Mr Shen had launched Supreme Court proceedings against Ms Shen and her partner Lei Dang seeking repayment of about $2.38million in alleged unpaid loans, plus interest.
asserted
Shen → launch → loans
Forensic handwriting specialist Kiki Wong (pictured), a former Scotland Yard expert, gave evidence that the diary entry had been written by Mr Shen
He also sought the transfer of shares connected to a Blakehurst property and repayment of rental income he claimed Lei Dang had received from another jointly owned investment property.
asserted
Dang → picture → property
The court heard the relationship had deteriorated so badly that Mr Shen told his lawyer he was deeply disappointed in his daughter and did not intend to leave her anything further in his will.
asserted
he → hear → will
He described Lei Dang as 'trash', claimed his daughter 'only sees me for money', and told a friend he wanted to move house 'to get myself away from my daughter's family'.
asserted
he → describe → family
The estrangement worsened after Ms Shen reconciled with Lei Dang following a domestic violence incident in 2019 in which he was charged with assault.
asserted
he → worsen → assault
In one message, Mr Shen told his daughter: 'If you still aren't clearheaded, we can only sever our father-daughter relationship.
asserted
we → tell → relationship
If he beats you to death again, you deserve it.'
asserted
you → beat → it
The court heard Mr Shen later moved from his Blakehurst home partly because he wanted distance from his daughter's family and because Ms Shen and Lei Dang knew the access code to the property.
asserted
Shen → hear → property
While Ms Shen and Gordon challenged Ms Wu's claim that she was Mr Shen's de facto partner, they ultimately accepted she had cared for him in the years before his death.
uncertain
she → challenge → death
Justice Free rejected attacks on Ms Wu's credibility, including suggestions she had exaggerated her grief and improperly benefited from the purchase of a Sydney apartment.
asserted
she → reject → apartment
The court accepted Ms Wu's evidence that her relationship with Mr Shen became romantic in 2019 after he asked her to be his girlfriend following a stay in hospital.
asserted
he → accept → hospital
As the Covid pandemic unfolded, Ms Wu became increasingly involved in Mr Shen's life, buying groceries, preparing meals, driving him to medical appointments, collecting medications, cleaning his home and helping manage his affairs.
asserted
Wu → unfold → affairs
By late 2020, she was spending much of her time living with him.
asserted
she → spend → him
The following year, they searched together for a new home before Mr Shen purchased a property at Connells Point, where Ms Wu stayed regularly while caring for him and her own mother.
asserted
Wu → search → him
By contrast, several witnesses called by Ms Shen sought to downplay the significance of the relationship.
asserted
witnesses → call → relationship
One childhood friend claimed Mr Shen had described Ms Wu merely as a friend and translator, while another alleged Mr Shen said she was not his 'type' and was 'kind of greedy'.
asserted
she → claim → friend
Justice Free rejected those claims, finding they were inconsistent with Mr Shen's own WeChat messages praising Ms Wu as kind-hearted and crediting her with caring for his health and well-being.
uncertain
they → reject → health
The court also heard that Mr Shen sent flirtatious messages to a travel agent and at one stage described himself as 'alone, lonely, but free'.
asserted
Shen → hear → himself
While the judge acknowledged those exchanges were embarrassing for Ms Wu, he found they did not undermine the overwhelming evidence that Mr Shen and Ms Wu were in a stable, long-term romantic relationship.
asserted
Shen → acknowledge → relationship
The judge pointed to a series of messages that painted a very different picture from that advanced by Ms Shen and Gordon.
asserted
that → point → Shen
In one message Mr Shen told Ms Wu: 'Believe in yourself, you have found a man who takes care of you for a lifetime.'
In another, after buying her a city apartment, he wrote: 'Let's grow old together, I love you.'
asserted
I → tell → you
He also referred to Ms Wu as his girlfriend, introduced her as his wife to his GP and repeatedly told friends and relatives she was the person who cared for him and supported him in Australia.
asserted
who → refer → Australia
The court heard Mr Shen's solicitor, William Ying of STC Lawyers, drafted an earlier will in 2021, which has never been found.
asserted
which → hear → 2021
That document allegedly left half of the estate to Gordon and half to Ms Wu, while requiring Gordon to change his surname from Dang to Shen in order to receive his inheritance.
When Mr Ying questioned why he was excluding his daughter, Mr Shen reportedly replied that Ms Wu was 'the only person here in Australia who really cares for me'.
According to evidence accepted by the court, he told his lawyer: 'She is my companion.
uncertain
She → leave → lawyer
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
