Pace Wu’s Billionaire Boyfriend Sued By A Friend Over His S$17.5mil Debt

Former Taiwanese actress Pace Wu and her billionaire boyfriend Ji Xiaobo have been making quite a few headlines lately, although mostly for not-so-flattering reasons. After a period of wowing the internet with their extravagant lifestyles and purchases (remember the S$175mil crystal dragons?), more recent reports claim that the couple is actually broke, with Xiaobo owing people massive sums of money.

In the latest update on the Hongkong businessman’s overwhelming IOU, Hongkong media broke the news that a man named Pang Yufeng had filed a debt collection lawsuit on Monday (Oct 19), saying that he had lent Xiaobo HK$100mil (S$17.5mil) in January 2019. They even signed an agreement stating that Xiaobo must pay it all back by December 30 that same year, after which he would incur a daily interest rate of 0.13 per cent.

However, Xiaobo failed to make repayment even after multiple reminders from his friend, so Yufeng decided to turn up the heat and take the issue to court.

Yufeng certainly isn’t the only one going after Xiaobo for money. In May this year, it was reported that Xiaobo had failed to settle the rent for his three luxury houses in the upscale Shouson Hill area, prompting the landlord to sue him for the unpaid amount of HK$5.41mil (S$946,000) and ask him and his family to move out.

Pace had an unusually calm response to this piece of news. The 42-year-old explained that due to the pandemic, employees have not been going into the office and forgot to deposit the cheque, but as soon as Xiaobo was aware of the issue, he immediately made payment. She even apologised for taking up public resources for this, um, “trivial matter”.

Pace announced her departure from the entertainment industry in November 2014 and started living a laidback and luxurious life as a taitai… although with the latest developments, it’s unclear if those decadent days are numbered. She and Xiaobo had four children together from 2014 to 2020, but never officially tied the knot.

Xiaobo’s financial troubles are said to stem from his integrated resort on the Pacific island of Saipan, which has been doing badly due to dwindling tourist numbers — yes, even before COVID-19 — and posted a loss of S$580mil in 2018, which grew to S$1.1bil in 2019.

Photos: Pace Wu/Weibo and Instagram, PBE Media