PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A London court has granted a preliminary divorce decree to former Miss Malaysia Pauline Chai, which entails that she will be entitled to half her billionaire husband Khoo Kay Peng's RM2.8 billion (S$910 million) fortune once the marriage is officially dissolved.
Judge Stephen Alderson, who heard the case, granted the decree nisi at the Central Family Court in London on Thursday, British portal MailOnline reported.
A decree nisi does not terminate the marriage, and six weeks have to pass before an application can be made for a decree absolute, the legal document which officially ends a marriage.
The couple have been in dispute over the divorce for almost three years and have since spent a total of RM33.1 million in legal fees alone.
Mr Khoo and Ms Chai were married for 43 years when Ms Chai filed for divorce in Britain on Feb 14, 2013.
Ms Chai had also requested for her case to be heard in Britain as the matrimonial settlement would be much smaller if the case was heard in Malaysia.
The Court of Appeal, which initially decided that the case could not be heard in Britain, later allowed it.
