Contract row 'irresponsible'

Singer Joey Yung Cho-yee wants fellow singer-actress Isabella Leong Lok-sze to return to Hong Kong to clarify the contract dispute she has with management agency Emperor Management Group (EEG).

'This has caused indirect damage to other artists who belong to the group, and she [Leong] should come back to explain all this in person,' Yung (right) said.

Emperor filed a writ this month claiming the 19-year-old Macau-born, Hong Kong-based actress breached her contract. Leong, who is believed to be in the US, said the 10-year recording and management contract she and her mother signed when she was 12 were 'unenforceable.'

She said neither she nor her mother could understand English, the contract language, when they signed it.

Yung, also under contract with Emperor, disagreed that being young was an excuse and defended the company.

'A contract is a contract,' she said. 'It doesn't matter how old you were when you signed. It is your responsibility to complete the terms written in the contract. I was also underage when I signed mine but I had my mother and my lawyer with me when I signed it.'

Yung said it was too late to complain about it now as the contract was signed years ago. 'If there is anything that you don't agree on, say it right away. It's totally irresponsible to bring it up now.'

The disputed part of the contract states: 'In the event EEG agrees to sever the contract, Leong is prohibited from working in the entertainment industry in any capacity for seven years'. Yung didn't find this harsh. 'Seven years sounds normal. The point is why would she want to cancel her contract in the first place?'