HK director Danny Pang files for bankruptcy after exhausting savings for wife’s cancer treatment
He was spotted outside a Hong Kong court on Dec 19 and openly admitted he was there to file for bankruptcy.
Hong Kong director Danny Pang told the media he was HK$2 million (S$340,000) in debt.
Pang, 58, who worked with his twin brother Oxide on The Eye horror films, revealed how his wife was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in February this year. They had weathered another medical setback in their 30-year marriage when she had breast cancer a decade ago.
The devoted husband was filming in China when he learnt of the diagnosis, but left the production to return to Hong Kong to care for her.
The medical bills started to pile up, however, and even with government subsidies, their expenses surged to HK$100,000 a month.
It didn’t help that Pang also struggled, work-wise. Filming for a Chinese movie was repeatedly postponed, so there was no income coming in.
And although he offered to take on editing jobs, there were no takers.
He exhausted his savings and took private loans to stay afloat. But he struggled to repay them and is now forced to declare himself a bankrupt.
Pang also shared that his brother and sister-in-law, Malaysian actress Angelica Lee, had offered help but he declined.
“He also has a family to take care of,” he said.
Pang told the media he and his wife contemplated suicide, but later changed their minds.
“We’re not afraid of death, so what else is there to fear. Right now, we just want to live each day well,” he said.
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