HONG KONG - A POWER struggle at the top of Hong Kong's largest property company has intensified since its chairman filed a suit against his brothers to stop them from firing him.

Sun Hung Kai Properties chairman Walter Kwok, who took leave of absence on Feb 18, accused his younger brothers Thomas and Raymond of trying to have him dismissed without legal basis, and argued that any attempt by the defendants to remove him would constitute a breach of agreement, according to court documents obtained by Reuters.

He added that he believed his brothers had proposed his dismissal because of heath concerns.

He said those concerns were linked to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder - a condition characterised by abrupt mood swings - that he was contesting.

The company said it was seeking legal advice after Mr Kwok filed his suit, which sought, among other things, to prevent a board meeting called to vote on his dismissal.

'Mr Kwok filed his injunction just an hour before our meeting, and because the court did not have time to deliberate it, we were forced to suspend our meeting,' Sun Hung Kai said in a statement on Thursday.

'This does not indicate any judgment on the part of the court.'

The suit marks the latest twist in a saga splashed across local newspapers since February, highlighting a widening rift within a firm touted in a Euromoney poll as Asia's best-managed company last year.

It is also a rare public feud between the three brothers, who are collectively the world's 23rd richest billionaires and Hong Kong's second richest, with a net worth of US$19.9 billion (S$27.5 billion), according to Forbes magazine's latest list.

Sun Hung Kai is Hong Kong's biggest office landlord, with a stake in each of the territory's three tallest skyscrapers, the Financial Times said.

In March, the company posted a forecast-beating 17 per cent jump in fiscal half-year earnings, buoyed by an upswing in Hong Kong home sales.

Analysts had said Mr Kwok's leave of absence - publicly explained by the company as time off for him to go on a series of business trips - would not unduly affect the stock because of a well-established internal management structure.

But Sun Hung Kai shares have fallen 2.4 per cent since his departure, against a 7.4 per cent gain on the main Hong Kong blue chip index.

In the suit, Mr Kwok said his siblings had disagreed with his attempts to enhance internal transparency and accountability, especially with regard to an investigation into the awarding of contracts to a select group of contractors.

He said that disagreement and others over various management initiatives had prompted his brothers to attempt to remove him from his post.

Apart from Thomas and Raymond Kwok, who with their brother had long overseen Sun Hung Kai, the suit also named more than a dozen others related to the firm.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 17, 2008.