First Encounter - Leslie Cheung Poem by john tiong chunghoo

when first meeting
is last meeting
Cheung leaps to fame and suicide

Young hopeful leslie cheung
he leaps to fame
and a suicide

The late Leslie Cheung was named Asian Biggest Superstar by China Central Television, and voted as The Most Favorite Actor in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema in 2005. When he came to Kuala Lumpur in the mid 80s, he was like any other young Cantopop singer, excited about fame. I however was not taken in by his talent and even wondered how he was going to make it in the tough and tumble world of showbiz. He did not seem to have an edge over other singers such as Alam Tam who was also a rising star then. But perhaps lady luck was with him.

It was a brief meet and one impression stuck - his legs seemed to be all on the move. What kept memory so fresh was that he even looked back as he walked away from us at one of the leading hotels in Kuala Lumpur. It was our only meet.

He walked away to a great acting and music career and surprisingly, a suicide at the height of his fame on April 1,2003. Cheung leapt from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, in the Central district of Hong Kong. He left a suicide note saying that he had been suffering from depression. He was 46 years old