Lai See | Former Jardines taipan caught 'in flagrante delicto' on the beach

Percy Weatherall, the former Jardine taipan, was spotted supporting Cancer Research UK at a fun run on Sunday that ended at Big Wave Bay beach.

The big man cut a dashing figure in a rather splendid country hacking jacket as he cheered in the mostly lycra-clad youngsters. He also stood out for helping in the good fight against the big-C while smoking a huge stogie. Jardines certainly has a lot of pull down in Shek O through the Shek O Development Co, which manages the golf course and vets which fat cat gets to live in the 20 or so tycoon houses in the surrounding hills.

Still, we are not sure this influence extends to an exception from the no-smoking rule on bathing beaches run by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

For those of you following the case of tax consultant Deborah Annells, we can report that she was back in court last Friday. She appeared before Magistrate Jason Wan Siu-ming at Eastern Magistracy and was committed for trial, though no dates have been set yet, and was remanded in custody.

She faces 55 counts of theft and fraud involving more than HK$36 million, and the case will be heard in the High Court. She also faces charges of doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice, attempted fraud, and possessing a false instrument. These last three charges will be heard in the District Court at a time to be determined shortly. However the question of whether or not Annells is eligible for legal aid remains unresolved.

The Legal Aid Department has been investigating this matter since the middle of last year. Annells said at a previous hearing that she had "absolutely no money". Annells is the founder and former CEO of AzureTax, which specialised in arranging the tax affairs of expatriates.