Prostitution ring scandal: 'Heavenly King' Aaron Kwok denies being client

Hong Kong star Aaron Kwok has denied being involved as a client for an alleged cross-border prostitution ring.

Kwok has been linked to the scandal since a Chinese publication Next Magazine published a list that implicated 38 female celebrities who provided sexual services, as well as 18 men who were allegedly regular customers.

No specific names of celebrities were given, though the magazine's list contained initials, nicknames and descriptions of the celebities and clients involved.

One of the nicknames on the list of clients was "Old Heavenly King K", described as a Hong Kong actor and singer with "heavenly king" status.

Asian Pop News reported that "Old Heavenly King K" had a notorious reputation, engaging the escort services once every couple of days.

It was quickly rumoured that the description referred to Kwok, who is well-known as one of Hong Kong entertainment's "Four Heavenly Kings" along with Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai. He is also the only one of the group who has never been married.

The two-time Golden Horse award winner, who has been conducting a series of solo concerts to mark his 25th year in the entertainment industry recently, responded to the rumours on Nov 8 by acknowledging that he had indeed come across the report and heard about the speculation, Chinese news website IFeng reported.

However, he dismissed the gossip and rumours, saying "there are many 'heavenly kings'."

Mingpao News also reported him saying that he will not get defensive over the issue, or make any assumptions. "That would be a stupid thing to do," he said.

Kwok recently turned 50, and celebrated with a star-studded party attended by longtime friends from the entertainment industry Julian Cheung, Anita Yuen, Shawn Yue and Miriam Yeung.

seanyap@sph.com.sg