This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 11, 2026 - May 17, 2026

A 12-year-long court battle over the control of Sarawak-based conglomerate WTK Group is one step closer to ending.

On April 29, the Court of Appeal (COA) upheld an earlier ruling by the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in Sibu that shares belonging to the late timber tycoon Datuk Seri Wong Tuong Kwang in 20 privately held companies had been fraudulently transferred to his late second son Datuk Wong Kie Nai.

The judgment marks another major turning point in a feud that has fractured one of Sarawak’s most influential and wealthy families since the founder’s death in 2004, triggering at least 40 lawsuits between two rival factions involving both second- and third-generation family members.

The Wong family members first became embroiled in a heated legal feud in April 2014, when Wong Kie Chie, 78, the youngest son of Tuong Kwang and a beneficiary of his estate, filed a complaint against his sister-in-law Kathryn Ma Wai Fong, 83 — widow of Kie Nai and executrix of his estate — for improperly transferring unlisted shares in 20 companies, including WTK Realty Sdn Bhd, out of their father’s estate. WTK Realty is the holding company of the broader WTK Group.

Kie Chie also named his elder brother Datuk Seri Wong Kie Yik, 85, in the suit. At the time, Kie Yik was both chairman of WTK Holdings Bhd (KL:WTK) and an administrator of Tuong Kwang’s estate.

Kie Chie sought court orders to nullify the disputed transfers, restore the shares to Tuong Kwang’s estate and compel the companies involved to reissue share certificates accordingly.

Ma denied the allegations, maintaining that the shares had been legitimately gifted by the patriarch to Kie Nai. She also argued that Kie Chie had no legal standing to bring the suit because Kie Yik had already been appointed administrator of the estate, although formal letters of administration were only issued weeks later.

The family conflict reached new heights in 2016, when Ma filed a counterclaim against Kie Chie, Kie Yik and former WTK Holdings chief financial officer Janice Ting Soon Eng, alleging they had conspired to dilute Kie Nai’s estate stake in WTK Realty.

However, the High Court in Sibu ruled in 2019 that Kie Nai had fraudulently procured the transfer of the shares, while dismissing Ma’s counterclaim in its entirety.

The COA has now affirmed those findings, strengthening the position of the faction aligned with Kie Chie and Kie Yik.

Whether the dispute ends here will depend on whether another appeal is filed at the Federal Court.

At the heart of the decade-long dispute was a set of pre-signed blank share transfer forms that the court ultimately found had been misused to shift control of the WTK empire.

In a 125-page judgment, the COA detailed how the documents — originally signed by Tuong Kwang before undergoing heart bypass surgery in February 1993 — later became the basis for the transfer of his shares in 20 companies to his second son Kie Nai.

According to the judgment, Ting, then chief accountant of WTK Group, testified that Tuong Kwang had requested blank share transfer forms before the operation. Tuong Kwang merely signed the forms in Ting’s presence without inserting any details or instructing anyone to complete them.

The signed forms were then entrusted to Ting for safekeeping, with instructions that they were only to be handed to all three sons if he did not survive the surgery.

Tuong Kwang eventually recovered.

From the 1980s until May 2011, Kie Nai effectively ran WTK Group as executive director and CEO, with Ting reporting directly to him. At some point, Kie Nai asked Ting whether his father had signed any share transfer forms, prompting Ting to disclose the existence of the pre-signed documents and the instructions attached to them.

The court heard that in May 2004, Tuong Kwang became critically ill and was hospitalised.

By August that year, Kie Nai instructed Tang Yong Yieng, then head of WTK Group’s company secretarial department, to complete the blank transfer forms so that all of Tuong Kwang’s shares in the 20 companies would be transferred solely to Kie Nai.

According to the judgment, Kie Nai further instructed Tang to insert “love and affection” as consideration for the transfers in 18 of the 20 companies, attest Tuong Kwang’s signatures as transferor and backdate the forms to February 1993.

However, Tang informed Kie Nai that four of the companies had issued additional shares after 1993, making it impossible to backdate those transfers to that year. Tang also said he could not properly attest Tuong Kwang’s signature because the signing had not occurred in his presence.

Following that, Kie Nai allegedly revised his instructions. Transfers involving 16 companies were backdated to Feb 10, 1993, while the remaining four were dated Aug 20, 2004. Tang completed the forms accordingly and returned them to Kie Nai.

The judgment further stated that Kie Nai later instructed his personal assistant, Lau Puong Mii, to attest both Tuong Kwang’s signatures as transferor and Kie Nai’s signature as transferee on the forms — despite neither signing in her presence at the material time.

The forms were subsequently returned to Tang, who then processed the transfers of all the shares from Tuong Kwang to Kie Nai.

After Tuong Kwang’s death in November 2004, Kie Nai informed his younger brother Kie Chie that their father had gifted the shares exclusively to Kie Nai.

Kie Chie testified that he initially accepted the explanation because he trusted his elder brother.

The first major crack in the Wong brothers’ relationship surfaced in 2014, after correspondence from Kie Nai’s lawyers surfaced during related proceedings that Kie Chie said he became aware of alleged irregularities surrounding the transfers.

Kie Nai obtained letters of administration over Tuong Kwang’s estate in August 2005 and remained administrator until his own death in March 2013. After his death, control over the disputed shareholdings became a new flashpoint within the family.

In December 2013, shares in three of the 20 companies at the centre of the litigation — Harbour-View Realty Sdn Bhd, WTK Realty and WTK & Company Sdn Bhd — were transmitted to Ma in her role as beneficiary and executrix of Kie Nai’s estate.

The remaining 17 companies continued to be registered under Kie Nai’s name. They comprised Sentiaya Sdn Bhd, WTK Trading Sdn Bhd, Salwong Sdn Bhd, WTK Enterprises Sdn Bhd, WTK Timber Exporter Sdn Bhd, Green Hill Sawmill (1984) Sdn Bhd, Hung Ling Sawmill Sdn Bhd, Siew Doh Development Company Sdn Bhd, Systematic Logging Sdn Bhd, Song Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Lormalong Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Miri Sawmill Sdn Bhd, Stratum Mining Sdn Bhd, Baribin Timber Sdn Bhd, Hunyun Corporation Sdn Bhd, Jumbo Logging Sdn Bhd and WTK Management Services Sdn Bhd.

The transfers deepened divisions within the Wong family, with rival camps continuing to dispute whether the shares had been legitimately gifted by the patriarch or wrongfully obtained using the pre-signed forms.

Once synonymous with Sarawak’s timber industry, WTK Holdings has undergone major restructuring in recent years, repositioning itself around three core businesses — oil palm plantations, food distribution and adhesive tapes — after exiting its legacy timber operations in December 2025.

As at Dec 31, 2025, WTK Holdings managed seven oil palm estates across Sarawak with a planted area of 17,456ha, alongside two crude palm oil mills in Limbang and Miri, each with a processing capacity of 30 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per hour.

Its food distribution arm Sing Chew Coldstorage Sdn Bhd imports and distributes more than 1,500 stock-keeping units spanning frozen, chilled and consumer food products, including meat, seafood, poultry and dairy products.

Meanwhile, the group’s industrial products division distributes adhesive tape products under the Loytape and Star brands across Malaysia and in overseas markets.

The restructuring appears to be delivering results.

After six consecutive years of losses, WTK Holdings returned to the black in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2025 (FY2025), posting a net profit of RM38.6 million versus a net loss of RM43.2 million a year earlier. The turnaround was partly driven by a RM47 million cumulative gain arising from the disposal of its timber subsidiaries.

Revenue, however, declined to RM576.1 million from RM671.9 million previously, reflecting reduced contributions from the timber division ahead of its divestment. Plantations emerged as the group’s largest earnings driver, contributing 58.9% of revenue, followed by food at 23.5%. Timber accounted for 8.8%, while tapes, investment holding and other operations made up the balance.

Having exited the timber business, WTK is expected to avoid further losses from the segment beginning FY2026, while maintaining a relatively conservative balance sheet. As at end-2025, the group held cash and bank balances of RM268.9 million against total borrowings of RM417.6 million, translating into a net gearing ratio of 0.2 times.

Despite the protracted legal battle, the Wong family continues to wield significant influence over the listed WTK Holdings.

The group is now led by third-generation scion Datuk Seri Patrick Wong Haw Yeong, 56, the son of Kie Yik. Haw Yeong serves as group managing director and CEO, and directly owns an 8.465% stake in the group.

As at May 5, 2026, Kie Nai’s estate held a direct 3.932% stake in WTK Holdings, according to Bursa Malaysia filings. Kie Yik separately held 2.903%, while Kie Chie owned 0.995%.

All three parties also shared an identical indirect 22.355% interest in WTK Holdings through WTK Realty and Ocarina Development Sdn Bhd, which is under liquidation.

WTK Realty directly owns 16.223% of WTK Holdings and holds an additional indirect 6.132% stake via Kosa Bahagia Sdn Bhd and Ocarina Development.

Filings with the Companies Commission of Malaysia show that Kie Nai’s estate is WTK Realty’s largest shareholder with a 41.61% stake, followed by Successful Trend Investments Corp with 14.36%, Kie Chie with 12.22% and Kie Yik with 10.27%. Other substantial shareholders include Kie Chie’s son Pierre Wong Ho Zhen, with 7.18%, and Haw Yeong with 5.22%.

Investor sentiment towards the restructured group has strengthened in recent months. Shares in WTK Holdings have climbed 83% over the past 12 months to close at 75 sen last Friday, valuing the company at RM361 million.

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