Chart topper in court battle over father's £1m fortune

The singer who teamed up with Shaggy for the No 1 hit It Wasn’t Me” is caught up in a bitter family court battle over his dead father’s 1m fortune.

- ROBERT AYLING

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 bestselling single of the year in the UK and has since clocked up more than 1 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.

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.