Quadriplegic Andy Chan Chi-lai would have killed himself had he not met cinema usher Kwan Pak-wah 11 years ago.
Mr Chan was left paralysed after a traffic accident in 1993 while working in Jamaica for a Hong Kong telecommunications company. He was 30 at the time.
After the accident he was abandoned by his family, and when he came out of hospital he was sent to a home for the elderly to recover.
'Every day I was left sitting in a wheelchair, totally immobile. I decided that I would only give myself about 10 more years to live, as I was not living the life of a human being,' he recalls.
Mr Chan, 41, was fortunate to meet Mr Kwan, seven years his senior. The two established a close friendship and Mr Kwan decided to leave his job as an usher to take care of Mr Chan around the clock.
With the $300,000 or so he received as compensation for his injury, Mr Chan initially paid Mr Kwan about $4,000 a month.
Mr Chan and Mr Kwan - who has suffered mental illness for years - became good partners.
