Leslie Cheung’s suicide: how the King of Canto-pop’s death shook Hong Kong 15 years ago
The pop idol leapt to his death from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central on April 1, 2003, leaving thousands of fans shocked and devastated
“Pop star, actor and director Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing plunged to his death from the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central in an apparent suicide last night,” ran the story in the South China Morning Post on April 2, 2003, reporting the Canto-pop star’s death 15 years ago.
“Cheung, 46 – star of the hit 1993 movie Farewell My Concubine – fell from the 24th floor window of the hotel and was found lying in Connaught Road at 6.41pm. He was rushed to Queen Mary Hospital where he was certified dead on arrival.”
As word of Cheung’s death spread, female fans arrived to lay bouquets near the spot where their idol fell.
“Cheung, who was gay and lived with his banker lover in Kadoorie Avenue, Ho Man Tin, shot to fame when he was runner-up in ATV’s Asian Music Contest in 1976,” the story said.