Stephen Chow is unfazed by threats of legal action that the Cheung family plans to slap him with over an alleged defamatory article posted by one of Chow's fans.

Golfing star Tiffany Chen, wife of China Star Entertainment chairman Charles Heung, who is at the center of the controversy, threatened to sue Chow if he failed to issue a clarifiation on the damaging article that branded her husband as a member of the notorious Hong Kong triad crime ring.

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Chow, who is in the thick of pre-production for his upcoming flick "Mermaid", has denied any links to the defamatory article and said he wished to call the Cheungs to make an apology. Chen, however, remains convinced that Chow was behind the publication of the article.

The issue stemmed from a 50,000-word article written by a self-confessed fan of Chow, which revealed many little-known details about the actor-producer's personal life and career. It is not clear exactly when and where the article first came out, but Yahoo Entertainment said it was recently re-published in an online platform called "Art Western District", which the Cheungs had read and fueled their anger.

In part, the article claimed that between 1993 and 1996, Chow had tried to apply for Canadian citizenship but was denied because he was then working with the entertainment outfit owned by Charles Heung, who allegedly had connections to the triad.

Chen debunked the article's allegations, saying that her husband has been chairman of the publicly listed China Star Entertainment Ltd. since 1997, and has been able to move in and out of mainland China --a freedom of mobility that would have been impossible if he was part of the triad because China did not tolerate affiliations with crime groups.

Chen said she found it hard to believe that Chow had nothing to do with the article as it contained photos of the actor-producer that were not previously seen elsewhere on media, and which only someone privy to his life and activities could have gained access to.

Chen's tirades against Chow did not stop at threatening the latter with legal action. She has gone on to reveal "secrets" that, at worst, discredit the actor-turned-filmmaker.

For instance, Chen said Chow once required actress Cecilia Cheung to shave her head for an upcoming movie, and when the actress refused, threatened to sue her for millions of dollars, despite having given the actress a downpayment of only HK$5,000 for her work.

Other celebrities and movie workers have chimed in their support for the Cheungs in their fight against Chow.

Singer-actor Andy Lau said the Cheungs were the best people to work for, citing his own experience working with the couple for the most part of his successful career.

Hong Kong director Wong Jing, for his part, said Chow was a tyrant, citing an incident when a film producer had to kneel before Chow to beg him to attend the promotional activities for a movie that they worked on together.

Daniel Lam also branded Chow as "greedy" after they ended up in court over copyright issues on the movie 'Shaolin Soccer', adding that it was impossible to have a good business partnership with the actor-filmmaker.

TagsStephen Chow, Tiffany Chen, Charles Heung triad connection, China Star Entertainment Ltd