Faye Leung, the B.C. businesswoman who helped bring down a premier, dies at 92 [Video]

Faye Leung, a B.C. businesswoman who was known as the Hat Lady, passed away earlier this month at the age of 92. 

A real estate agent and prominent member of the Victoria and Vancouver Chinatown communities, Leung gained notoriety for her role in the downfall of then-B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm over the sale of his theme park.

Leung arranged the sale of Fantasy Gardens in Richmond, B.C., for $16 million in 1990 to Taiwanese billionaire Tan Yu.

A 1991 inquiry by conflict commissioner Ted Hughes found Vander Zalm breached conflict-of-interest guidelines. 

Hughes was asked to conduct the inquiry following controversy over Vander Zalm setting up meetings for Yu with his finance minister and the lieutenant-governor.

The public furor also included a late-night hotel meeting between Vander Zalm and Yu, who, according to a tape recording Leung provided Hughes, handed the then-premier an envelope stuffed with $20,000 US in $100 …