Monica Wong (left) leaves her apartment to speak to the media in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Gaynor Fairweather leaves a Hong Kong court in June. (AFP)

Hong Kong, Sept. 6 (Reuters): A high-profile Hong Kong banker and ballroom dancing enthusiast won a lawsuit on Wednesday against her Salsa instructors, who were ordered to return HK$62 million (US$8 million) for lessons she never took.

“I’m pleased with the outcome,” Monica Wong said calmly to a throng of reporters after the verdict was announced.

“I’m hopeful that the judgement will be the end of it,” she said, smiling slightly.

Wong, the 61-year-old daughter of a shipping tycoon and head of HSBC’s private banking business in Asia, had agreed to pay HK$120 million to dance teachers Mirko Saccani and his wife, Gaynor Fairweather, for unlimited private lessons and competitions from 2004 till 2012.

After she put down a HK$62 million deposit, she said the relationship turned sour. Saccani admitted in a high court hearing to calling Wong a “lazy cow”, and telling her to “move her arse” during a packed ballroom dancing session in August 2004.

Wong, who said she suffered an emotional breakdown from the insults, sued the couple, seeking the return of the HK$62 million deposit. But the couple counter-sued, calling on Wong to pay the rest of the money owed to them.

In a written judgement, deputy high court judge Gerard Muttrie ruled that Wong be repaid damages equalling HK$62 million plus interest.

“Overall, I find the plaintiff'’ (Wong’s) version of events much more believable than that given by the defendants,” Muttrie wrote.

“I do not see why, even if (Wong) was in default, she should not have her money back, subject to any claim for damages which the defendants might have.

“They took her money, for services in the future which she would never take up.”

According to the judgement, Wong had originally paid the couple just HK$1,000 (US$129) for hourly lessons, but her interest increased almost to the point of “obsession”, leading to the multi-million dollar deal.

The judgement said their relationship had initially been good with Fairweather, 15 times world Latin dancing champion, who had called Wong “my little project, my love and my heart”.

During the trial, Wong referred to her relationship with the couple as “an affair”.

Wong’s hefty investment showed some dividends. She came first in the over-50 age group at the Los Angeles Embassy competition in September 2002 and was placed highly in subsequent overseas contests.

The case has highlighted the at-times ostentatious lifestyle of the super-rich in Hong Kong, China’s wealthiest city.

The city’s ability to generate vast wealth from its origins as a fishing village, has transformed it into a financial and banking hub. Banking giant HSBC, for whom Wong works as the head of private wealth management, is the city’s largest bank.

“What is clear in this case is that Ms Wong was affected very much by her obsession for dancing,” said the judge.

Wong, who has a slender physique and looks younger than her 61 years, said: “I will continue to dance and compete for as long as possible ... It is my passion”.