Fugitive billionaire donates millions to HK film industry
3 Jun – Former entertainment reporter Kimbie Chan recently confirmed that her billionaire husband Joseph Lau has donated a hefty amount of money to the Hong Kong Film Workers' Pandemic Support Programme.
As reported on Mingpao, Kimbie, who spoke on behalf of her Chinese Estates Holdings stakeholder husband, stated that Lau has donated HKD 10 million in support of the programme organised by the Hong Kong Performing Artists Guild and the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers.
"[HKPAG President] Louis [Koo] called him the other day and Joseph just agreed without any question. I was an entertainment journalist, so I partly belong in that world. I agree with Joseph that we should help everyone affected by the pandemic. I hope that everybody will be able to survive this," she added.
This is not the first time that the fugitive billionaire has donated to the film industry, having done so to help support young creators in 2018. He has previously expressed his belief that Hong Kong has great talents but lack of resources to cultivate them compared to other countries.
Lau was one of the two were involved in the 2012 bribery scandal over the bid for five plots of land opposite Macau International Airport. He was found guilty in March 2014 and was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, and lost his appeal soon after.
However, the Hong Kong-based businessman escaped extradition and remains at large as a fugitive due to the lack of extradition treaty between Hong Kong and Macau.
(Photo Source: Mingpao)
