A BILLIONAIRE tycoon's assistant has a baby and suddenly climbs up the societal ladder, moving into a luxurious apartment.

His girlfriend declares war on the other woman by publicly dousing rampant rumours that the infant is his.

He strikes back by cancelling his girlfriend's credit cards.

This is the story so far in what has become the most sensational saga to hit Hong Kong since actor Edison Chen's dirty celebrity pictures were posted on the Web early this year.

The man of the tabloid moment is property mogul Joseph Lau, 57, famous as a collector of art (such as Paul Gauguin's The Morning, valued at US$39 million or S$59 million), jets (including a Boeing 787 Dreamliner worth US$150 million) and beauty queens.

Former Miss Hong Kong winners Michele Reis and Ada Choi, as well as actress Rosamund Kwan, are among the bevy of beauties he has been linked to in the past.

Now, he is in an alleged love triangle with his girlfriend, former Miss Hong Kong semi-finalist Yvonne Lui, 32, and his assistant Chan Ho Wan, 29, who gave birth to a girl on Oct 23.

Read the full story in The Sunday Times today.