Death of actress Kathy Chow: Beijing police detain man who leaked her medical records
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Hong Kong actress Kathy Chow, who was based in Beijing, died at the age of 57 on Dec 11.
PHOTO: KATHY CHOW STUDIO/WEIBO
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More than two days after the death of Hong Kong actress Kathy Chow,
Chow, who was based in Beijing, died at the age of 57 on Dec 11. Her death was confirmed by her agency on Chinese socia media platform Weibo late on Dec 12, saying it was due to an illness. She had just celebrated her birthday on Dec 6.
Soon after the announcement, a photo of Chow’s medical records began circulating online.
According to the leaked document, the patient, who lived alone, suffered from high blood pressure and systemic lupus erythematosus. She was found lying on the floor by her colleagues at about 10am on Dec 11 – she had lost consciousness and her heartbeat had stopped for an hour when she was taken to the hospital. The patient had been coughing and having difficulty breathing in the past week, and she had been under home oxygen therapy.
On Dec 14, the Shunyi Branch of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said on Weibo that a 36-year-old man had been detained for allegedly leaking private information.
“On Dec 11, a 36-year-old man with the surname Fu took advantage of his working position in a hospital in Shunyi District by taking a photo of a patient’s personal medical record and sending it to a WeChat group for the purpose of showing off, causing the information to spread,” the police station wrote.
Chow was an ethnic Manchu, a descendant from the Guwalgiya clan of the Bordered White Banner – one of the Eight Banners divisions of Manchu military and society during the Qing Dynasty.
She joined Hong Kong broadcaster TVB after taking part in the Miss Hong Kong pageant in 1985, when she placed in the top 15.
She made her debut in the historical drama The Yang’s Saga (1985), which starred actors such as Andy Lau, Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung Chiu Wai. She played Yang Yanying, the ninth sister of the Yang family of generals.
Chow later also acted in other TV serials such as The Feud Of Two Brothers (1986) and The Price Of Growing Up (1987), with Looking Back In Anger (1989) cementing her status one of TVB’s top actresses.
Her fame rose further when she went to Taiwan to film the TV series The Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre (1994), an adaptation of late writer Louis Cha’s martial arts novel.
She played the role of Zhou Zhiruo, one of the female lead characters in the novel and an apprentice of Abbess Miejue, the leader of Emei sword sect. Chow was often hailed as the “most beautiful Zhou Zhiruo”.
Chow would go on to star in other famous TV serials such as Time Before Time (1997), The Empress Of China (2014 to 2015) and the Chinese adaptation of The Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre (2019), in which she played the role of Abbess Miejue.
Chow dated Hong Kong actor Ray Lui, who is 10 years her senior, after they starred in the TVB series The Upheaval (1986). They began, but did not complete, the marriage registration procedure in Las Vegas, the United States, in 1988.
Lui, who is now married to Chinese businesswoman Yang Xiaojuan, mourned Chow’s death on Weibo late on Dec 12.
“I couldn’t calm down for a long time after hearing this news,” he wrote. “Thank you for bringing so much beauty to the world. I hope you will continue to laugh heartily in the next world.”
Chow was romantically linked to Hong Kong singer-actor Leon Lai after they starred in the TV series Cherished Moments (1990), but neither acknowledged the relationship. She dated an architect who was seven years her junior when she was furthering her career in China, but their relationship ended after 12 years.
