Daffy Tong Hok-tak, the former longtime partner of late Hong Kong superstar Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, has maintained a low-profile lifestyle while managing assets reportedly worth over HK$100 million, as he recovers from an eye condition that kept him away from memorial events marking the 23rd anniversary of Cheung’s death.
The 67-year-old did not post at midnight on April 1 as in previous years, instead sharing photographs of Cheung later in the day with the message: “Feelings as if it were yesterday.” He was also absent from public commemorations at Po Fook Hill in Sha Tin.
According to East Week, a sister publication of The Standard, Tong was seen visiting a clinic in Central on the same day and later returned home with his left eye bandaged.
Tong has largely kept out of the public eye since Cheung’s death in 2003, though he sold a luxury property in 2021 for over HK$100 million and has since led a private lifestyle.
In 2024, online rumors in mainland China linked him to a man surnamed Shi and speculated about their relationship and two boys seen with them. Tong later issued a rare statement denying the allegations, saying he lives alone and rejecting claims of surrogacy, adding that the children involved are friends’ children.
However, Tong was later spotted by East Week resuming contact with the group after recovering from an eye condition. He was reportedly seen entering a private club in Tai Hang before leaving about an hour later with Shi, two boys, a domestic helper and an older woman. He was observed interacting closely with the children, pausing to listen and explain to them in a patient manner, before escorting them back to their residence and returning to his Mid-Levels home.
Separately, Tong was also seen in casual sportswear at a wet market in Wan Chai. Sources said he has developed a strong interest in table tennis in recent years and has been training regularly with a local coach. Earlier, friends celebrated his birthday with a table tennis-themed cake featuring a gold trophy inscribed “HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAMPION DAFFY TONG.”
Cheung, one of Asia’s most iconic entertainers, died in 2003 at the age of 46. Tong has since continued to mark anniversaries with private tributes.
