Kent Tong Won’t Attend Barbara Yung’s Memorial Services
As a member of TVB’s highly successful Five Tigers, Kent Tong’s (湯鎮業) popularity peaked in the 1980s. However, he was blamed for the suicide of his girlfriend, famed actress Barbara Yung (翁美玲), in 1985. Kent endured harsh criticism in the way he had handled his relationship with Barbara, and it was speculated that he left TVB to avoid more negativity. In a recent interview, Kent recalled his relationship with Barbara and clarified his reasons for leaving the station.
Kent shared that Michael Miu (苗僑偉) protected him during this sensitive time, which led to public criticism towards Michael as well. Kent said, “I feel sorry because Michael also took the blame. This is in the past now; he is a perfect guy, and there is no need to say negative things about him.
“I don’t need to make a comeback argument. When I left TVB, it had nothing to do with the reports at the time. Being an artiste lacks freedom sometimes. If there are negative reports, it’s best not to read them. As a man, I can handle it [the accusations]! This was fate and I’ve survived it. God knows I’m a good person. After this incident, I had a more positive outlook on life.”
In past years, Kent frequently had posted messages commemorating Barbara on his Sina Weibo blog. When asked if he still misses the deceased actress, Kent disclosed that he does not try to think of her often as it is unfair to his current wife. “I have thought about Barbara for so many years. If I continue to do so, it is unfair to my wife. There are many scenes in life, and while it is impossible to completely erase the past, it’s important to still look at my current life.”
Kent will not attend Barbara’s 30th anniversary memorial service to avoid being blamed again. Since Kent also has to deal with the feelings of his family, he stated that it would be best if he did not take part.
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.
Barbara if you are still alive today, your fame and fortunes will be much greater than Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Rosamund Kwan and many other actresses.
You were born with great talent, down to earth personality and people oriented. May God Bless You Great in Heaven!
LOL
Oh, that was good. ^_^/
I am a fan of Barbara but honestly, you really wonder if she would be as famous as Maggie Cheung, Rosamund Kwan and others. It is easy to give all of the credit to the deceased and to degrade and blame the living.
me too..i loved her so much, she was a great actress.
the age demographic of users here are far older than I thought!
I agree with you HeTieShou.
If she was Miss Hong Kong 1982. Her life was changed forever.
We’ve to move on, this is history, she took her own life decades back. I feel the public should honestly stop blaming Kent Tong, we’re all outsiders, only God knows the actual reason why she took her life. In life, we’ve to move on, past is past, we can’t deny the past nor erase it, whether happiness or sorrows, we could only walk forward and not backwards. I feel Kent Tong already suffered much in the past as everyone blamed him, his career impacted the most. Give him a break, be logical and move on ppl.
I agreed with you. He has moved on and has a family now. It’s been 30 years and Barbara’s fans should just move on.
Hi Purplecat,
I think a lot of ppl don’t try to put themselves into Kent Tong’s shoes. I’m sure he feels guilty at some point of time. His career was once put on hold, without a job or no one wanted to cast him, financially tight it was already enough pain. I’m happy for him that he has a family now. We shouldnt live in the past, he can quietly keep Barbara Yung’s in memory. Showing it or display it publicly will only hurts his wife and family.
Well said Bloom and wish more people were open minded like you. I agree that he can keep his memories of Barbara in his heart. Even Barbara’s ex from England back then gave a great response when asked if he loves and misses Barbara. He said that he did not live and miss her but feels sorry for her she never experienced the happiness that he now has with his family,but Barbara still has a piece of his heart and it will always be hers. I thought it was the sweetest response. We should keep everyone dear to us in our hearts.
Totally agree with you Bloom! I just find it sad how many just cannot move on even though it has been nearly 30 years. After all these years,I find it so ridiculous that everyone still blames Kent for Barbara’s death. If anyone remembers and followed the news closely back then, they honestly should know that Barbara was dating someone else named Stephen Chow( not the Stephen Chow that we all know but a different one) which meant that she and Kent have already broken up. But sadly many are ignorant and still blame it all on Kent, it is sad how many can be so hateful and resentful to someone that they do not know at all even after so many years. If Micheal even stepped up to defend Miu,that truly shows something, However,haters just got to hate regardless of what happened or did not happened. As outsiders,none of us know what truly happened and as Bloom said it is all history so just move on because is too short to hold grudges and
To continue my post since I accidently hit the submit button.
..to hate others for reasons we are not sure about. Let Barbaa rest in peace and Kent move on and live his life peacefully. He has been through a lot and deserves happiness.
Meant to say step up to defend Kent. Gosh,I need the edit button!
actually she wasn’t dating this “stephen Chau”..it was stephen chau who’s was trying to court her on the rebound. ..infact this guy went to see her after he got a call from her but could not get access to her locked door.
Like I have mentioned,as outsiders,none of us know for sure what truly happened or whether he did date her or not. Only they would know that. As the public,we hear this and that so you really wonder. Honestly,I wonder if her own mom even knows the whole story. But it is not like it matters anymore,so we should all just let bygones be bygones because there is no point in dwelling over the unhappy past. Let Barbara rest in peace and Kent move on with his life since it has been nearly 30 years already. How much more time will it take for people to finally move on and stop blaming Kent?
Hi HeTieShou,
Thanks for agreeing. I was just trying to picture myself in his shoes. My friend once told me that we’re actually responsible for our own emotions. It’s true, but sometimes not all of us could do it.
A lot of ppl dont think it thoroughly. I remember I was in my primary school then when news of her broke, my classmates were crying. I was never her fan, but back then as far as I’m concerned nor remember committing suicide amongsts the celebrities at least in HK was not really something you hear so often.
Yes, I heard of that name Stephen Chow, I guess a lot of ppl associate Kent Tong with Barbara Yung because they could have been dated for some time. Whereas that guy Stephen could have just dated her for short while, we honestly have no clue was it a foul play or she was just trying to threaten someone by trying to commit suicide etc.
Can’t imagine yeah close to so many decades ppl still want to continue to blame Kent Tong. It was something unfortunate and uncalled for, but we’ve to move on, why kept living in the past?
everything belongs to God.. this universe, all our wealth, our strength, the air and water that we drink, our lives as well, so do not commit suicide, else you’ll end up somewhere else but not heaven
That’s clearly your believe, don’t tell people what to do and how to live. People like you who use their religion to expect others to live the same way are less likely to go to that precious “heaven” of yours if you continue to dictate others’ way of life.
it’s my comment, so i can say whatever i know, it’s up to the reader to believe or not
I agree with LV. Calm, your comment is clearly telling people what to do “…do not commit suicide, else you’ll end up somewhere else but not heaven.” How do you know “heaven” exists? Have you been there? saw it with your own eye? Or, do you know anyone who had gone there and came back with actual facts proving that there’s heaven?
Yes, heaven is real. I have seen my grandmother in paradise after she died. My grandfather was in the valley of the shadow of death before he was brought to heaven after he died. I am one of the few people born with the third eye and I can see ghosts as well. I asked God to let me see how they were after they died. So yes, heaven is real.
yes, i have seen heaven too
>>es, heaven is real. I have seen my grandmother in paradise after she died. My grandfather was in the valley of the shadow of death before he was brought to heaven after he died. <<<<
Really?.. if so what image did your grandma portrayed? was she in her 20s or 70s? do they have modern clothes or olden clothes -if any at all.
If Barbara’s mum does not object to Kent being at the service, then i don’t feel anyone else has the authority to object to Kent’s presence. People should just move on and let Kent be.
Very well said and really agree with you. Honestly if Barbara’s mom is fine with Kent attending then who else has the authority to not welcome Kent to the service or blame him for her daughter’s death? I heard Kent is on decent terms with Barbara’s mom so that truly shows something,but sadly Kent haters are so blind to see or notice that.
I wasn’t a fan of anyone back then but definitely not Yung Mei Ling but I don’t think even if her mom objected, she would even be able to speak up because she is the one bearing all the pain while third parties feel nothing in comparison.
Hey barbara fans if you want to know more about Barbara’s life in England before she was famous check this website: http://www.barbarayung.nl
It was written by her dutch ex-boyfriend
so does this means she never dated tong jun yeep and was already betrothed to someone in Holland!?? what is this?
She did date Kent Tong. Barbara used to have a boyfriend in England where she lived before she went back to Hong Kong to be an actress. This boyfriend was dutch living in England. They broke up in 1980.
It’s time to move on with Barbara. I heard some of the interview and documentary recorded, the whole incidence has nothing to do with Kent. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
there were another rumour on reason for her suicide….from a convict counting down his days to execution…
you guys didnt hear about that?
@ Wing
Thanks so much for the website.
It was a very interesting read. There is so much that wasn’t known about Barbara. (At least to me)
I wasn’t aware of her other suicide attempts. If she sought out help then maybe her last attempt wouldn’t have been successful. Or better yet, there wouldn’t have been an attempt.
I think the media is just looking for someone to blame for her death. Unfortunately it was Kent Tong.
No problem. I thought it would be interesting to read for Barbara fans. I now know so much more about her life before she was famous.
I dont know why he was even deemed as responsible for BY death. Eventhough if they were still dating when she suicide I dont see why he must be responsible. Its her own action. Could be just a suicide threat that went really wrong. Could be she was in deep depression.
because old school Chinese general public didn’t then and don’t know like stories about toying with girls affections, changing partners/serial monogamy, etc.
One reason the public blamed Kent was because the Media at the time stirred things up (we all know how the media circus can get with these things). Kent and Barbara had already broken up at that time, but they were low key about it and didn’t publicize it (meaning the Media didn’t widely report it like they normally would), so even though most of their friends and people in the industry knew, the general public and a lot of the fans didn’t know. So in most people’s eyes, Kent was still the man in Barbara’s life at the time….of course, it makes sense then that when Barbara kills herself, the immediate assumption was that she did it because of relationship matters. And since no one knows the real reason why she killed herself, it just takes one person to throw a rumor or speculation out there that Kent was the “culprit” due to him already seeing someone else at the time, the Media latches on to it and repeatedly reports it and next thing we know, it spreads like wildfire.
Also, it doesn’t help things that the guy Barbara was rumored to be dating at the time Stephen Chau Sai Lung (though some say she wasn’t dating him, he was only trying to court her…but who really knows) told police and the media that Barbara was still upset over her break up with Kent (which added fuel to the fire, especially for the fans who were already hard-set on Kent being the guilty one) – plus most of Barbara’s close friends as well as Kent himself kept silent, not bothering to clarify matters out of respect for Barbara’s memory. It was an unfortunate situation all around that Kent is still paying the price for 30 years later (and probably for the rest of his life, since his name will be forever linked to Barbara’s and emotionally invested fans will probably never let him off the hook). Sad….
Sorry but the act of committing suicide is WRONG.
I am the wife of a man who always threatens to commit suicide.
He would have been dead multiple times if I did not stop him.
N who’s the one suffering? ME !!!
I’m so sorry. Is your husband seeking help for this?
Sorry to hear this but he might just be manipulating you and you just don’t know it. You should really seek counseling.
Agree with Mike!
NO, the act of committing suicide is not wrong. It is arguably selfish and cowardly and may be reflective of some underlying mental health issues (depending on the reason behind the act and the person’s mental state at the time of the act). The act of taking one’s own life cannot be wrong since right and wrong is subjective. However, using suicide as a way to threaten someone else is wrong because it’s manipulative and emotional blackmail. End of the day, your life belongs to you and you have the right to decide whether you want to live or die. No god or state or government should have the right to deny anyone the desire to take his or her own life. With that said, if you decide to take your own life, you and only you are responsible, no one else.
So, @nougat, I think it’s time for your husband to seek professional help and for you to sign the divorce papers.
As for Kent Tong vs Barbara Yung, her life, her choice, her decision to commit suicide. She’s responsible for her own death.
I m stuck with him forever. I do not want to be blamed when he takes his own life.
She’s the only Wong Yung. She was a great actress and all that but she was a disappointment to her love ones. The blame game is really easy to play especially if you let it happened lol. 😀 🙁 LOL!
BTW, let’s hope he has nine lives. 😀 🙁 LOL!
Random thoughts but Im curious if Kent ever hated Stephen Chow for saying her death was linked to Kent. Wonder if Stephen Chow ever went to any of her memorial.
Suicide is a personal choice. The one who is responsible is Barbara herself. I’m not even a fan of both so I’m looking at a mutual side.
i’m a Michael Miu and Barbara Yung fan
so the only thing i would like to know is if michael miu will be at her Memorial Services ?
was not into kent and barbara’s personal life
I have a feeling he will not come since many of her crazy fans still blame him for her death.
Hey HeTieShou! Would you be able to tell what did Michael do to make fans blame him for Barbara’s death?
Its her choice to decide to kill herself not anyone else whatever the reason maybe. So shouldn’t blame anyone else for her decision. Such is relationship however how hard it is one need to accept and move on