For many budding actresses, the Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant is a stepping stone into showbiz. But for former screen siren Chingmy Yau, that almost didn’t happen after she withdrew from the 1987 pageant amid rumours that she had plastic surgery on her chin.

Fellow contestant Huang Ying was accused of leaking the rumours to the press, which led to the then 19-year-old Chingmy, who was the hot favourite to win the title, to withdraw from the final due to “health reasons”. Chingmy would later say that the surgery was a result of a childhood accident.

Not that the scandal hurt her popularity. Remember that this was 1987, when plastic surgery was still considered a taboo topic. Chingmy went on to become one of Hongkong’s most in-demand leading ladies, starring in some of the biggest movies of the ‘90s like God of Gamblers 2, City Hunter and Future Cops. In fact, 21 years after retiring from showbiz, Chingmy, now 52, is still considered one of the greatest beauties of Asian cinema.

But for former actress Huang Ying, who has since settled in the UK, the accusations of her being a jealous tattletale have remained a chip on her shoulder.

In a recent interview with fellow 1987 Miss Hong Kong contestant and second runner-up Wing Lam, Huang Ying decided to set the record straight and address the decades-long accusation. Clarifying the matter, Huang Ying said she was shocked when a magazine reported that she was the one who had leaked the news.

“My first reaction was ‘I didn’t know [Chingmy] had any work done [to her face]’. My second reaction was ‘Why would I say that? I didn’t even know about it how was I supposed to leak the news to the media?’ I felt it was ridiculous, so I ignored it,” she shared.

Furthermore, Huang Ying was busy with the pageant rehearsals and training, so she didn’t pay attention to the reports. It was only before the finals that she realised the severity of the matter. “My cousin called me and said this matter is really serious and wanted me to clarify it. [She said] there’s a report saying that I was very bad.”

According to the former actress, for a week, the scandal was splashed across covers of all magazines in the city, with many painting a bad picture of her and accusing her of being at fault. “It’s as though I am [Chingmy’s] good friend and I didn’t want her to be successful, and we were fighting to be on top,” she told Wing.

Huang Ying added that reporters probably mistook her and Chingmy for besties as they had known each other prior to the pageant, having worked together on a series of George Lam concerts. They then assumed that she was the one who leaked the plastic surgery rumours. “I think this was what happened. After reading about it, I felt it was a misunderstanding and I was angry. Why didn’t [Chingmy] explain it to the reporter?” she sighed.

However, Huang Ying decided not to pursue the matter as too many things had happened since then. “I kind of regret not clarifying the matter because after so many years, whenever someone brings up Chingmy’s pageant days, my name will be mentioned,” she explained.

Nevertheless, Huang Ying said she was very thankful that Wing gave her the opportunity to tell her side of the story and if there was indeed a misunderstanding with Chingmy, she hopes this will clear the air.

She said: “I really hope Chingmy hears this. I don’t know if she misunderstood me — it’s best if she didn’t think much about the matter — but if she is unhappy about it, I hope she will let it go after watching this.”

Chingmy retired from showbusiness in 1999 after marrying Sham Kar Wai, a businessman who founded Hongkong’s I.T fashion brand, and she's been living a life of luxury since. The couple now have three daughters, Shum Yuet, 18, Shum Yat, 16, and Shum Sing, nine.

Photos: Apple Daily

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