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The singer who teamed up with Shaggy for the number one hit “It Wasn’t Me” is caught up in a bitter family court battle over his dead father’s £1m fortune.
British-Jamaican vocalist Rickardo “Rik Rok” Ducent co-wrote the 2001 smash with Shaggy.
He sang the main vocals on the track, which was the best-selling single of the year in the UK and has since clocked up more than one billion plays on Spotify.
In the song, Rik laments that he’s been “caught red-handed” cheating on his partner, while Shaggy urges him to tell her: “It wasn’t me.”
The hit, which reached No 1 in 10 countries, established Rik Rok’s name as a solo artist.
However, the singer, now aged 52, is caught up in a fraught inter-family legal clash after his half-sister, Sarah Ducent, went to court claiming a fair share of the £900,000-plus fortune bequeathed by their father, Herbert Ducent. Herbert died in 2007, aged 63, leaving behind assets in both London and Jamaica.
The dispute at Central London County Court pits Sarah against Rik Rok’s mother, Dorothy Ducent, who had worked alongside Herbert in his south London bakery business and inherited his wealth after his death.
Rik, whose birth name is Rickardo George Ducent, was previously a party to the dispute. He gave evidence in court to support his mother’s defence to her stepdaughter’s claim.
Herbert was an entrepreneur who established a successful construction company in Jamaica, as well as running the bakery in Brixton.
His English estate mainly consisted of two neighbouring properties in Peak Hill, Sydenham, jointly valued at around £900,000.
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His Jamaican assets have yet to be quantified in the British courts, although his daughter Sarah said he owned significant real estate on the island.
In his will, drawn up in Jamaica, Herbert named his widow Dorothy as his main heir, cutting out his daughter, Sarah, from whom Rik claims Herbert had become “estranged”.
But Sarah, who says she is now living “on the breadline”, has gone to court in a bid to secure “reasonable provision” from her father’s estate in line with the terms of the 1975 Inheritance Act as his dependant.
If she is to succeed, Sarah must first get over the legal hurdle of proving that her dad was legally resident or “domiciled” in the UK at the time of his death, with her claim liable to be struck out otherwise.
The key question for Judge Ann Evans-Gordon to now decide is whether the English courts have “jurisdiction” to deal with the claim, or whether it is an issue for authorities in Jamaica.
Although Herbert Ducent died 18 years ago, the case brought by Sarah has been held up due to multiple factors, including delays in finding his original will and a previous UK court dispute, which was settled on the basis that Herbert had not died intestate.
In the witness box, Rik was asked by Sarah’s barrister, Oliver Ingham, about his father’s relationship with Sarah.
“It’s not correct that after leaving Jamaica to come to the UK for college she was estranged from Herbert or that she cut off relations with him,” Mr Ingham put to him.
“That’s what he told me,” insisted Rik, also claiming that the family friend with whom Sarah was lodging had called up Herbert to “complain to my father about her behaviour”.
“On his next trip to the UK, he confronted her about it and an argument ensued,” said the singer.
“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.’”
Sarah insists that she and her dad stayed close over the years, describing him outside court as a “brilliant man” and saying: “I reject the idea of any estrangement.”
The 1975 Inheritance Act covering Sarah’s claim would only apply if Herbert was “domiciled” in the UK, but her barrister claimed there was solid evidence that Herbert, although Jamaica-born, wished to base himself in London, having built up strong family ties and business interests here.
He said Herbert’s death had been registered in the UK in 2007 only a year after he renewed his British passport, suggesting he had recognised the UK as his domicile.
The delay of nearly 17 years in his family’s claiming Jamaican domicile for Herbert suggested a “shift in their position motivated by the litigation itself”.
But Dorothy’s barrister, Jian Jun Liew, rebutted the idea that Herbert ever wanted to “anchor” himself to the UK in his latter years, focusing on the fact that in 1983, he had moved his entire family back to Jamaica after spending 20 years in London working at various trades.
After two days in court, the judge has reserved her decision in the case.
In past interviews, Rik, who grew up in London and rural Jamaica, has explained how his love of music was sparked by hearing his parents sing, naming his dad as an inspiration and a “big reggae fan”.
“Over two decades later, I still get recognised [and] can’t count the number of pictures I’ve taken and autographs I’ve signed for the nicest strangers you could ever meet … It’s allowed me to basically retire and focus entirely on raising my beautiful family. Eternally grateful for that.”
Meanwhile, his sister, Sarah, says she is now living in poverty in London.
The former civil servant, who is now struggling to get back to work, said outside court: “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 stepmother anymore.
“This money would make a great difference in my life, I am on the breadline right now.”
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