Ah Bun, whose appeal to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and legislators was made public on Monday, has been paralysed from the neck down since an accident in 1991. Dr Poon, a consultant in orthopaedic surgery at Queen Mary Hospital, has been treating him ever since and has become his friend.

Speaking for the first time since Ah Bun's appeal for the legalisation of euthanasia came to light, Dr Poon said Ah Bun's problem was 'spiritual'.

'If he can be in contact with other people with the same problem - [for example] a paraplegic who has a very meaningful life and can say one can have a bright future - it might help,' he said.

Dr Poon suggested Ah Bun's mind could be changed if he spoke to the paralysed American actor Christopher Reeve or British physicist Stephen Hawking, who suffers from motor neurone disease.

'Perhaps people can donate air tickets to bring Christopher Reeve to Hong Kong to see Bun Tsai,' the doctor said, using his affectionate nickname for his patient.

Ah Bun's plight prompted a flood of calls to the Direction Association for the Handicapped, a non-profit organisation providing support for 400 quadriplegic members. Callers wanted to know if they could help Ah Bun.

Taxi drivers spoke on radio yesterday to offer free rides to Ah Bun's elderly father, who travels almost every day from his Tin Shui Wai home to the Queen Mary Hospital in Pokfulam. His father said earlier that he had not been aware of Ah Bun's appeal for euthanasia.

Ah Bun, who had wanted to be a sports teacher, was rehearsing a somersault for a graduation ceremony on June 16, 1991 at the former Northcote College, when he fell and broke his spinal cord.

Then aged 21, he was rushed to Queen Mary Hospital. He has remained in the same ward ever since, not once leaving its confines.

Ah Bun broke his spinal cord between the first and second vertebrae - the worst place possible.

'His condition has been static - there is no deterioration, there is also no improvement,' Dr Poon said.

Ah Bun knew that there was no chance of recovery, said his doctor.

It would be useful for Ah Bun to have a custom-built 'information centre' around his bed so he could watch movies, listen to music, access the internet and get in contact with other people online, he added.

Ellen Ma Yee-man, a clinical psychologist from the Social Welfare Department, said mobility was the biggest issue in Ah Bun's case. 'Patients like Ah Bun are prone to depression because they are confined to four walls for a long time and have lost their sense of control,' she said.