£10m will gift dubbed 'very odd'

The restaurateurs inherited most of Mrs Bechal's fortune

An 89-year-old woman's decision to leave £10m in her will to an Essex restaurateur was a "random" and "very odd" action, the High Court has heard.

Stephen Lloyd, representing Golda Bechal's family, said she suffered dementia when she left the sum to Kim Sing Man and wife Bee Lian Man.

Mrs Bechal, who died in 2004, left most of her estate to the couple with charities the other key beneficiaries.

The hearing, brought by Mrs Bechal's five nieces and nephews, continues.

Sandra Blackman, Barbara Green, Laurence Lebor, Louise Barnard and Mervyn Lebor are challenging their aunt's will of August 1994, claiming she was so mentally frail the documents are invalid and they would be entitled to her estate under intestacy laws.

Memory loss

Mr Lloyd also told the hearing that the wills differed "significantly" from another made in 1988 which has never been found - in that will about 75% of her estate was left to good causes.

He said medical experts had agreed that by 1994 Mrs Bechal was suffering from dementia.

"There is very clear evidence that, in 1994, Mrs Bechal was at the very least subject to periods when she was not thinking clearly and was subject to confusion and memory loss," said Mr Lloyd.

The court had earlier heard how Mr and Mrs Man, who live in Great Leighs, Chelmsford, and run a Chinese restaurant in Witham, handled Mrs Bechal's finances after she dispensed with her accountant's services that year.

Mrs Bechal, who had a portfolio of properties across the south east, was the Mans' landlady.

The couple say they had been friends with Mrs Bechal and her late husband Simon for many years.