Veteran star Lee Lung Kei's much younger fiancée jailed by Hong Kong police
Although Hong Kong 70s and 80s star Lee Lung Kei was famed for his acting and singing prowess then, he is now more known for being engaged to a woman who is younger than his three children. His fiancee, Chris Wong, is now detained by the police for fraud, among other crimes.
Image: Weibo
Lee Lung Kei is a 73-year-old Hong Kong veteran actor who is not only famed for his singing skills but also for his prominence in Hong Kong entertainment back in the 1970s and 1980s.
Image: TVB
Born Lee Hong Ji, Lee Lung Kei was born on November 1, 1950, in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In an interview with Hong Kong Radio 2, Lee Lung Kei revealed he was taught how to play the guitar and violin in junior high, and this paved the way for his future in entertainment.
Image: EMI
HK01 reported that, while merely a high school student, Lee Lung Kei was invited to perform in his high school’s summer camp and had appeared on The Star’s ‘Star Show’ as a youth talent, to showcase his talents in singing.
Image: EMI
Despite already having a foundation in singing and music, Lee Lung Kei did not continue in it professionally after high school.
Image: EMI
HK01 reports that Lee Lung Kei did mechanic work to save up for school and eventually studied to become an engineer after he was able to afford the training.
Image: EMI
According to an interview with RTHK Radio, Lee Lung Kei's family signed him up for TVB's talent show, 'Sharp Night', as a contestant, possibly to avoid wasting his musical talent.
Image: EMI
Lee Lung Kei eventually finished second in 'Sharp Night', which increased his popularity! Following that, he became more involved in singing work and decided to pursue it full-time, leaving engineering behind, according to the same interview with RTHK Radio.
Image: WSM Music HK
In 1978, Lee Lung Kei made the decision to sign with EMI records, reports Business Evening News. It was also during that period that Lee Lung Kei struck gold by singing the theme song of many TV dramas, including Asia Television’s ‘Superstar’ in 1978, which propelled him to great fame.
Image: WSM Music HK
Business Evening News reports that as Lee Lung Kei’s fame grew, he was invited to join Le Cordon Bleu Hong Kong’s repertoire of exclusive singers and opened up an agency for fellow contracted singers. However, this caused him great stress.
Image: WSM Music HK
Thanks to a chance meeting with TVB’s senior executive then, Feng Jilong, Lee Lung Kei then signed a contract to be an exclusive singer in TVB. Over time, the contract changed to an acting contract in 1990, reports HK01. To this date, he still remains an active actor!
Image: TVB
As a singer, Lee Lung Kei is known for his hit albums ‘The Spirit of The Sword’, and ‘Manly’, among others. As an actor, he is best known for his work in ‘The Heroes in Ming Dynasty’, ‘The Legend of Condor Heroes’, and ‘Deep in the Realm of Conscience’.
Image: TVB
Lee Lung Kei’s personal life has been the subject of interest for Hong Kong tabloids. He has been married twice and is currently engaged, with each subsequent love interest being decades younger than he is, with the current one being more than three decades younger!
Image: TVB
Lee Lung Kei’s current fiancée is Chinese national Chris Wong, whom 8days reports is not from the entertainment industry and is 36 years younger than him. Given the wide age gap, many have criticised the relationship as a “grandfather-granddaughter relationship”.
Image: Weibo
Despite the critics, 8days reports that the two are very much in love and that Lee Lung Kei is very devoted to his much younger partner of 5 years, with even relocating to China to be with her, and buying several properties out in her name!
Image: Weibo
Sinchew Daily reported on February 21 that Chris Wong has been charged with six crimes and has been detained by Hong Kong police for crimes such as overstaying her visa and falsifying her academic credentials.
Image: Chrisart1017 / Instagram
Given the severity of the situation, Chris Wong has been denied bail as she is suspected of using these forged documents for an entry permit and deceiving Hong Kong authorities, reports Zaobao.
Image: Chrisart1017 / Instagram
The news shocked Lee Lung Kei, who, Sinchew Daily reports, had flown from Guangzhou to visit his now-detained partner.
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The same report from Sinchew Daily notes that Lee Lung Kei revealed that he had not expected the case to be so serious, believing that Chris Wong had only been detained for overstaying her visa and not for other crimes.
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According to 8days, Lee Lung Kei admitted that he was completely unaware of Chris Wong's forged academic credentials, among other things, and had believed her when she claimed to have studied at "various established institutions". However, the news hasn't deterred Lee Lung Kei, who is still determined to marry her.
Image: TVB
The same 8days report notes that Chris Wong’s case will be reviewed later in the year, in April, and states that if she were to be found guilty, she would be jailed for up to two years and fined 50,000 HKD.
Image: Weibo