Eurasian actress Isabella Leong Lok-si is not living in a HK$150,000-a-month villa in Pok Fu Lam's Residence Bel-Air, she says.
The luxurious development in Cyberport is owned by telecoms tycoon Richard Li Tzar-kai's company, PCCW, with whom the 19-year-old has been rumoured to be romantically involved.
But the actress released a statement last night denying she had ever stayed in such a villa, although admitting she rented a more humble flat in the exclusive enclave for two years before moving out last July. 'Many media have published inaccurate reports about me, for example [they] reported that I lived in an independent house in Residence Bel-Air, but this is not true,' the statement says, adding she will not list other inaccuracies in media reports.
Leong's name has been linked with Mr Li, chairman and chief executive of PCCW and son of the city's richest man, Li Ka-shing, in many recent magazine and newspaper reports. They claim fellow actress Michelle Yeoh Choo-kheng introduced Leong to the 42-year-old bachelor in Shanghai last year when Leong was filming The Mummy 3. The actress then rented the 5,000 sq ft house for HK$150,000 a month, the reports claim.
Mr Li, sometimes called 'Super Diamond Bachelor' in the tabloid media, has already denied reports of an affair with Leong or that he had paid out HK$100 million to Emperor Entertainment Group to redeem her contract. He has reportedly split with girlfriend Rachel Lloyd.
Leong's statement also says an Emperor Entertainment Group announcement on March 12, which says the two parties have a good relationship, is not entirely true and she was not consulted before its release.
