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Saturday, August 26, 2006



[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 26/08/06]

Reports broke in a magazine yesterday that a man, falsely claiming to be TVB General Manager Stephen Chan, had contacted artiste Ngi Kanin with the aim of obtaining telephone numbers for last year's Miss Hong Kong winners Tracy Ip and Sharon Luk. He then contacted the girls claiming again to be Mr Chan and offering them a dinner date. As this is a serious allegation that could possibly affect their personal safety, TVB has turned this matter to the police and the case is currently under investigation with CID.

Kanin and Sharon were both working at TVB City yesterday and asked about this, Kanin says that the incident happened about two weeks ago, but the company did not want to say too much, so he just said: "This is in the hands of the police now." However, he does admit that he was suspicious about the call and he was wary that this person was not Stephen. He says: "There is no reason why the company would not know the numbers for the Miss Hong Kong winners. (Have you met with anything like this before?) When I first entered the industry, I received calls asking me if I was interested in attending dinner parties, saying that the wage for these jobs was $30,000 per month and that I would drive a Ferrari." He would ask them in return whether there was ever such an easy job. He feels that this incident is a warning and this is a good thing.

As for near victim Sharon, she did not wish to talk about it, saying: "I don't want to say too much as this is in the hands of CID. (Will you be changing your number?) I have two phones anyway, one for work and one for my friends to call me on. Even before I entered the industry, people would make crank calls, you can't avoid this. (Has that person reappeared after the incident?) Even if he did, I wouldn't know who he was. (Have any strangers tried to get close to you?) Not really, but the company has security measures to protect us."

Tracy was asked about this yesterday and she says that when she received the call, she knew that it was not Mr Chan on the phone and the hesitation from the caller made her very suspicious. She humoured him a little because he was quite polite on the phone, but before he had a chance to mention the date, she had ended the call. Asked how she protects herself from fraudsters, she says: "When I was a model, I have received many calls like this and some would be talking dirty or try to claim to be a relative. I have never met these people though and if this was an intentional act, then it is a mockery of artistes. (Will you change your number?) No, I don't usually answer unknown numbers." She says that foiling this prank was all thanks to watching the 'Police Call' programme.

Tracy's rumoured boyfriend Don Li indicated that she has spoken to him about this because she was interviewed by the police so she could not meet him for dinner. He says: "This is a small farce and maybe it was a fan playing pranks. (It is dangerous though?) Yes. Not only for female artistes, even normal girls are worried about these incidents because this is disrespectful to women. (Will you be protecting Tracy?) No, she can look after herself. (Will you be picking her up?) Maybe I should answer her calls and filter them for her!"

http://www.takungpao.com/news/06/08/26/UL-613225.htm
http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/ent/20060826/20060825233410_0000.html



[Ta Kung Pao 26/08/06]

With the news of an imposter pretending to be Stephen Chan to try and get Tracy Ip and Sharon Chan's phone numbers, Stephen was asked about this whilst filming for his chat show "Be My Guest" and he indicated this was in the hands of the police to investigate now. His guest for the day Liza Wang said that it was very difficult to imitate a TVB executive and only a granny would have fallen for it.

Asked further about the incident, Stephen indicated that the case was in the hands of the police, so he is not able to comment, but he hopes that it will be resolved soon. He also praised his colleagues for being smart, but warns them all to be vigilant and careful, otherwise it is very easy to fall victim to fraudsters. He has contacted the artiste department after this occurred, warning them to be careful and saying that he rarely contacts them directly. If he wishes to contact them about any work matters, then he normally passes the message through the department. The reports say that the fraudster contacted the make up room, but he points out that he does not even know the number for that room and he never refers to himself as 'Mr Chan'.

Liza points out that Stephen rarely meets artistes on their own. In the past, she has received many hoax calls and she feels that Hong Kong is in a mess at the moment, so everyone needs to be careful. Asked how she thinks female artistes need to protect themselves, Liza laughs that at the moment she thinks you have to be a granny to fall for these tricks. Hwoever she feels it is quite difficult to imitate a TVB executive because there are so many departments and you can always call up to verify.

The 28th August is Liza's birthday and Stephen prepared an early birthday cake for her as well as presenting her with an operatic headdress for a princess. Many years ago, when Stephen was a columnist, he had written an article about Liza and he also presented her with a copy of this. In return, Liza taught him some operatic poses with the souvenir flag for the press to photograph. Liza will be filming an ad on her birthday, so she will be celebrating with her fan club on the 27th. Her birthday wish is for world peace and good health. When the reporters asked her if she will have time to have dinner with Law Ka Ying, she smiles it is not necessary because they had already been out for her Chinese birthday. Asked what gifts she has received, she smiles that a dinner is enough and when it was his birthday, then it was the same for him because gifts no longer matter that much.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/06/08/26/UL-613223.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 26/08/06]

TVB's Childrens Songs Award Presentation 2006 will be held this evening and this will be hosted by Lydia Shum, with guest performers including Nancy Sit, Steven Ma, Kenny Kwan, Don Li, Mandy Chiang, Angela Tong and Jacky Wong. At the blessing ceremony yesterday, Lydia could not help showering the cute Jacky with kisses and giving him the roast pork to eat.

As for the recent reports that Lydia's daughter Joyce Cheng has suffered scarring after laser treatment on her face, Lydia denies this angrily, saying: " She had two spots, but they have to exaggerate it and make it into a scar!" So did Joyce go for treatment? Lydia puts her hand up and says: "I swear that if she has been for treatment, then I will fall over. I really hate this and I don't want to talk about it because it makes me mad." After this, she left quickly.

Kenny will be heading into the Police Training School next week to film for "Cadets on the Beat" and he says that during this time the cast and crew have been very good to him, but he often has to trouble them because he does not have a driving licence and often has to rely on his colleagues such as Kate Tsui and Michael Tao for lifts. As a result, he will make time to go for his road test in the hope that he can drive himself to work soon. As for funny stories during filming, Kenny says that Wai Ying Hung, who plays his mother in the series, is very serious when she is working and in a fighting scene with her, she scolded: "Have you been sitting on your brain?" as she lifted him up with a finger and Kenny was so taken aback that he had to beg her for mercy in a rather amusing scene. Ying Hung and Gordon Liu have been sharing their stories with him about their experiences at Shaw Studios and this has been invaluable to him.

Angela will be playing 'Piggy' in the show in a dance routine with Miss Hong Kong winners Janet Chow and Koni Lui. They will have to display ribbon and long sleeve dancing whilst suspended on wires and as this is a live show, there is no chance for outtakes, so she has been rehearsing hard for it.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/06/08/26/UL-613224.htm



[The Sun 26/08/06]

Miss Chinese International winner Leanne Li appeared in her first wedding show yesterday, but she seemed a little stiff in her performance. She laughs that the feeling of wearing a wedding dress is a very fortunate one and she is pretending that the cameraman is her lover. She also reveals that there are a few pursuits on her at the moment, but she is in no hurry to start dating: "I hope my future boyfriend will be a couple of inches taller than me, because it is hard work wearing flat shoes all the time."

http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/ent/20060826/20060825233727_0000.html


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