SINGAPORE - Yang Yin, the former China tour guide embroiled in a high-profile court battle over the control of a rich widow's assets, has to wait longer to find out if he can dip into two insurance policies to pay for his legal fees for his ongoing court battles.

The State Courts will decide next week whether two insurance policies worth about $98,000 in his name should be released to him.

In April, the High Court allowed Yang to liquidate both life insurance policies to pay for his legal fees.

The policies will help cover part of his legal fees in a high-profile High Court suit brought against him by Madam Chung Khin Chun, 88, through her niece Hedy Mok. Madam Mok, 61, has accused Yang of manipulating her aunt into handing over assets worth an estimated $40 million. The High Court suit is set to be heard in March next year.

Madam Mok has appealed against the High Court decision to release the insurance policies. But even as her appeal was made, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) disclosed that it had already seized both policies for criminal investigations last year.

A closed-door hearing was held at the State Courts on Monday on whether the CAD can release the insurance policies at this stage. The Attorney-General's Chambers and lawyers representing Yang and Madam Mok attended the hearing.

Yang, 41, had met Madam Chung in 2008 while acting as her private tour guide in Beijing. He moved into her bungalow a year later and claimed the widow treated him as her "grandson".

Besides the High Court suit by Madam Mok, Yang also faces more than 300 criminal charges in total, including two criminal breach of trust charges for allegedly misappropriating $1.1 million.

He has been in remand since Oct 31 last year.