PUBLISHER Chris Cheney is due to fly out of Kai Tak tomorrow with the remainder of his goods and chattels to start afresh in Singapore after the collapse of his Hong Kong publishing empire.
If it sounds like deja vu, it is. This will be the second time Cheney has relocated to the Lion City.
Readers may recall how his decision to move his operation there in 1990 started the downward spiral in his fortunes. After allegedly being defrauded by a business partner, Cheney moved back to the territory a year later.
His marriage began to fail, his publishing ventures started to stutter, staff complained of being paid with cheques that bounced, the repossession men began making frequent visits to his office, and finally The Peak was printed for the last time, two months after he insisted all was well.
Fate handed Cheney another blow last week. He called ex-wife Ruby to ask if she wanted to buy his car and take over the lease on his 1,000-square-foot flat in University Heights. Since she is living in a 3,000-sq-ft apartment in Tregunter with their two children, no prizes for guessing her response.
IT WAS a sight few ever expected to see - Action Man Simon Murray practically motionless. Mr Murray was to act as the auctioneer at last night's Cancer Fund Ball at the Regent Hotel - until the former French Legionnaire took a tumble during a skiing holiday.
Apparently the damage to one knee was so extensive he had to undergo a five-hour operation to repair the joint. The inexhaustible former Hutchison managing director and fitness fanatic pulled out of his ball duty; being confined to a wheelchair while he recovered, Mr Murray probably reasoned he would not be able to see over the top of the auctioneer's lectern.