Hong Kong’s former second-richest billionaire Lee Shau Kee’s son Martin sues actress Chrissie Chau, denies affair

Lee lodged the claim at the High Court of Hong Kong on Feb. 13, according to the South China Morning Post.

The businessman said Chau’s actions sparked false speculation that damaged his reputation and stressed that he does not know her and has never had any relationship with her, The Standard reported.

Court documents state Lee denied ever attempting to befriend Chau or cultivate “any relationship of any kind with her, in any way or form.”

Lee’s legal team said he first became aware of the rumors in 2016 after media inquiries about an alleged affair with Chau. He claimed Chau was the only person who could have benefited from the speculation, noting that its emergence coincided with promotion for the 2016 film “iGirl,” in which she starred.

He said that fabricated claims and videos have continued circulating across Chinese-language media, social platforms and YouTube since then, sometimes identifying or implying him while using images of him and his family. Some content also allegedly drew unrelated women into the rumors and portrayed invented criminal scenarios involving his family, he added.

According to Lee, the controversy resurfaced in June 2025 when Chau referenced sponsorship rumors during a YouTube interview while promoting a new film, reigniting online discussion. He said the renewed attention caused distress to his family as they were mourning the death of his father at the time.

Lee said the lawsuit seeks to establish the facts, protect his family’s reputation and curb online harassment.

In addition to Chau, Lee is pursuing damages and injunctive relief against Google and five YouTube channels, accusing them of failing to remove what he described as defamatory material. His filing said he has faced “a continuous deluge of false and made-up written and video content” over the past decade. Some videos allegedly claimed Chau bore his child and that his wife assaulted her, assertions Lee called entirely fabricated.

Hong Kong businessman Martin Lee, son of late Hong Kong billionaire Lee Shau Kee, and his wife Cathy Chui. Photo from Chui’s Instagram

Lee is requesting apologies and removal of related online content and has pledged to donate any damages awarded to charity.

Following reports of the lawsuit, Chau denied the allegations on social media, saying she felt wronged and was herself a victim of the rumors.

“I have never ever explicitly or implicitly said, or led, anybody to believe Lee and I had a relationship in any form,” she wrote, adding that she does not know Lee and is unsure why the speculation persisted for years.

Lee, 55, and his older brother Peter, 62, succeeded their father in 2019 as co-chairmen of Henderson Land Development and The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas). They have guided the family business through challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic and economic headwinds while advancing several major projects.

Forbes recently estimated that the brothers and their family hold a combined net worth of US$34.9 billion, making them the second-richest in Hong Kong. This places them in the position their father held at the time of his death in March 2025, when his fortune was estimated at US$30 billion.

Chau, 41, rose to prominence as a model following the release of photo albums in 2009 and 2010 and made her film debut with the 2009 film “Womb Ghosts.”