'We appreciate what she has done for us. We were both very fond of her and my relationship with her was like a mother and daughter.' MRS MAN BEE LIAN, on Mrs Golda Bechal, who left her and her husband a fortune after she died -- PHOTO: AFP

He would stop by the plush Grosvenor Square apartment of Mrs Golda Bechal, bearing ingredients like pickled leeks and bean sprouts, and cook a simple meal for the elderly widow and property millionaire. Occasionally, he would complete any odd jobs that needed doing.

Now, that attentive, almost filial devotion to a lonely old lady has paid off. When Mrs Bechal died in 2004, she left Mr Man and his wife a £10 million (S$30 million) fortune. A handsome tip, as some British newspapers characterised it.

And last week, the British High Court ruled that the couple could keep the money, dismissing a challenge from her embittered family.

In doing so, the judge said that he was inclined to believe the Mans' version of events: that they had known Mrs Bechal for more than 30 years; that they were more family to her than her blood relations; that to Mrs Bechal, Mrs Man Bee Lian was 'the daughter she would dearly wished to have had'.

But the court also heard that Mrs Bechal's relatives were resentful of the Mans' attention to their matriarch and were suspicious of the circumstances under which she changed her will in 1994.

The connection between the Mans and the Bechals goes back to 1969 when Mr Man's parents rented property from the Bechals to start a Chinese restaurant in the village of Great Leighs in Essex, east of London.

'They met when Mr Man was 13,' said a family friend who did not wish to be named. 'Mr Bechal could speak Cantonese, so they used to chat.'

Family photographs show the Bechals at the launch of the restaurant.

The association grew after Mrs Bechal lost her husband and her only son. The Mans say she then became integral to their own family.

'They used to take her out on day trips, spend Christmas with her,' the friend told The Sunday Times. 'She went to Israel with Mrs Man on trips in the 1980s.'

Photographs produced in court purported to show their intimacy.

'Mrs Bechal virtually became part of the family,' said Ms Penelope Reed, counsel for the Mans.

Yet the Mans remained on highly deferential terms with their new matriarch. They would respectfully refer to her as 'Mrs Bechal'.

'We appreciate what she has done for us,' said Mrs Man in court. 'We were both very fond of her and my relationship with her was like a mother and daughter.'

At the same time, the Mans allege there was no love lost between Mrs Bechal and her own family, in particular the nieces and nephews.

The family rejects this. Disagreements were trivial, said their lawyer Stephen Lloyd, 'the sorts of things that might crop up in any family'.

The case hinged on whether Mrs Bechal was of sound mind when she changed her will in 1994. The five nieces and nephews - Ms Sandra Blackman, Ms Barbara Green, Mr Laurence Lebor, Ms Louise Barnard and Mr Mervyn Lebor - argued that their aunt had suffered from serious dementia which made her change her will.

Significantly, the old document left nothing to the Mans, even though they had already known her for almost 20 years.

Mrs Bechal's relatives said that her behaviour radically changed around the time that the new will was made.

At one point, the five hired a private eye to tail Mrs Bechal and the Mans because they were worried about the influence the couple had on the old lady.

But the judge ultimately disagreed that Mrs Bechal 'lacked testamentary capacity' when she changed her will.

For now, the Man family is not celebrating or even speaking about the case until a 21-day appeal limit expires later this month.

An associate contacted at their Essex restaurant said that even when they get the estate, they will carry on serving Chinese cuisine to customers. 'They have no plans to change anything,' he told The Sunday Times.

mark.riceoxley@btinternet.com