Singer who performed with Shaggy on hit song ‘It Wasn’t Me’ locked in bitter feud with penniless sister over £1m fortune
A SINGER who performed with Shaggy on hit song It Wasn't Me is locked in a bitter feud with his sister over a £1million fortune.
Rickardo "Rik Rok" Ducent co-wrote the single, which clocked up over 1 billion plays on Spotify and was the best-selling single of 2001 in the UK.
But he is now battling Sarah Ducent on behalf of his mum Dorothy Ducent in a court battle for his dad Herbert's £900,000 fortune.
Herbert was an entrepreneur who established a successful construction company in Jamaica, as well as running a thriving bakery business in Brixton.
He left assets that included two neighbouring properties in Sydenham, South London, that were valued at around £900,000.
His Jamaican assets have yet to be quantified in the UK courts, although Sarah claims he owned significant real estate on the island.
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Herbert's will, which was drawn up in Jamaica, named Rik Rok's mum, who had worked in the bakery, as his main heir and cut Sarah out.
But the singer, 52, claims his dad had become "estranged" from his daughter before he died 18 years ago.
Sarah, who says she is now living "on the breadline," has gone to court in a bid to secure "reasonable provision" from her dad's estate.
Her team say this is in line with the terms of the 1975 Inheritance Act as a dependant of her late father.
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But Sarah is facing a legal hurdle of proving Herbert was a legal resident in the UK at the time of his death - otherwise her claim could be struck out.
Judge Ann Evans-Gordon will now have to decide whether the English courts have "jurisdiction" to deal with the claim or if it's a purely Jamaican issue.
Giving evidence, Rik Rok was asked about his dad's life in Britain and Jamaica and his relationship with Sarah.
Sarah's barrister Oliver Ingham suggested the star would have had little direct knowledge about what went on between the pair.
But Rik Rok insisted he had lived with Sarah at times during his childhood in Jamaica and added: "My father and I were quite close so we talked about Sarah".
He claimed his dad told him Sarah cut off contact with him when she moved to the UK for college.
Rik Rok also told the court a family friend his sister was staying with had called up Herbert to complain about her "behaviour".
He continued: "On his next trip to the UK, he confronted her about it and an argument ensued.
"My father told me that she declared she wanted nothing more to do with him and he said 'are you sure that's what you want because if we're done we're done'."
But Sarah insists she stayed close with Herbert and described him as a "brilliant man".
The former civil servant, who is now struggling to get back to work, said: "I am hurt by the whole thing and I've lost my whole family.
"My dad died, but on the day he died I didn't think I would end up being in the position I am today going through all this heartache. I don't have a step-mother any more.
"This money would make a great difference in my life, I am on the breadline right now."
The 1975 Inheritance Act covering Sarah's claim would only apply if Herbert was "domiciled" in the UK.
Her barrister claimed there was solid evidence that Herbert, although Jamaica-born, wished to base himself in London.
He also told the court the bakery owner's death was registered in the UK in 2007 a year after he renewed his British passport - suggesting he had recognised the UK as his domicile.
Mr Ingham added: "Sarah Ducent asserts that the deceased, her late father, was domiciled - or had acquired domicile by choice - in the United Kingdom at the time of his death in 2007," he told the judge.
"Her position is that the deceased spent extended periods residing in the UK, becoming increasingly involved in UK-based business ventures and investments, having family in the UK and owning property in England.
"According to Sarah, Jamaica effectively became a secondary residence for the deceased, primarily visited for occasional business checks or leisure."
But Dorothy's barrister, Jian Jun Liew, rebuked the idea that Herbert ever wanted to "anchor" himself to the UK in his latter years.
She said that in 1983, he moved his entire family back to Jamaica after spending 20 years in London working at various trades.
The judge has reserved her decision until a later date.
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Rik Rok previously told how his love of music was sparked by hearing his parents sing and said his dad was a "big reggae fan".
The singer also said he never gets tired of playing It Wasn't Me, which changed his life and left him "eternally grateful".
