Playboy Cecil Chao escapes as Rolls goes up in smoke

Playboy tycoon Cecil Chao Sze-tsung escaped injury yesterday after his Rolls-Royce caught fire as he was being driven home along Pokfulam Road.

His girlfriend Wendy Xu, nine-year-old son Roman and his driver all escaped the fire, which destroyed the luxury vehicle that Mr Chao bought five years ago for $5 million. It is suspected that the car had been damaged during flooding in the New Territories last month and subsequent repairs might have failed to fix the problem.

Undeterred, Mr Chao, 66, last night drove his Mercedes-Benz to attend a basketball game with friends at a public indoor games hall in Western.

He said after the game that he and his girlfriend were not frightened by the incident, but that he was a bit worried about Roman, his son by ex-wife, model Terri Holladay. 'Neither of us were scared but my son might have been a bit frightened,' he said.

Mr Chao also boasted that the loss of the Rolls-Royce meant nothing to him - but he might consider filing for compensation from the mechanic who repaired it. 'I'll just buy a new car if this one cannot be fixed,' he said. Mr Chao now has four cars.

According to his driver, the fire occurred yesterday afternoon as Mr Chao was being driven home along Pokfulam Road.