And Chan had also said in his appeal that the earlier judgment had been tainted because the judge had been morally offended by his claim that he and Wang had shared an intimate relationship.

The appeal court judges said "it would be surprising if the judge did consider it morally acceptable" but noted that such an opinion need not have colored his judgment.

The appeal started in January and was initially estimated to require 10 days of court time. In the end, it needed less than four.

Chan said through his public relations agent that he was very disappointed with the result.

He said he plans to take his claim to the Court of Final Appeal and continued to insist that the will was not forged but was "absolutely genuine".

Lawyer Alan Leong Kah-kit said the odds of the final court accepting Chan's appeal were very slim because the previous judgments had been solid.

Kung of the foundation, said he was "too happy to say anything" after the appeal was rejected.

He said the judgment was fair and told local media that Chan had lost because of greed.

Chan was arrested for forgery after the trial last year and released on HK$5-million-bail.

The bitter dispute fascinated Hong Kong residents because of its juicy revelations about Chan's claimed affair with Wang.

Chan claimed Wang and he met in 1992 while he was still married when Wang, who was 20 years older than him, sought his help in locating her husband, who had been abducted in 1990 and who has not been seen since.

With his patchy resume as a waiter, bartender, machinery salesman and market researcher, he made an unlikely match for Wang.