Bruce Lee's former home a sex motel
2000-12-31 10:30
Hong Kong - The luxurious mansion formerly owned by Hong Kong martial arts legend Bruce Lee has become a notorious pay-by-the-hour sex hotel, a report said on Sunday.
Lee lived with his wife Linda Lee-Cadwell in the house in Kowloon
Tong until his death in 1973, the Sunday Morning Post reported.
The house was sold two years later and the owner has transformed it into the "Romantic Hotel" where men rent rooms for about 190-220 Hong Kong dollars (24-28 dollars US) per hour with prostitutes or their secret lovers, the paper said.
The sad fate of the property is seen as the lastest in a string of snubs to Lee's memory by the government, which has failed to erect a permanent memorial to commemorate arguably the world's most famous Kung Fu master.
Bruce Lee Union spokesperson, Rocky Mok, was quoted by the paper as saying the group was aware of the situation but was powerless to take action.
"Hong Kong is such a commercial city. Had it happened elsewhere,
maybe the mansion would be changed into a museum or an historical
site. But here everything is done for the sake of money," said Mok.
He added the government should do more to protect historical
legacies and not leave the reponsibility to the public.
The Bruce Lee Union has plans to build a memorial gallery in West
Kowloon in his honour but still requires some 20 million dollars in funds before construction can begin.
Lee, the founder of the martial art Jeet Kune Do, was 32 when he
collapsed at a friend's house in Kowloon Tong and died in 1973 in
mysterious circumstances.
Despite being named one of the top 100 icons of the century in a
poll conducted by Time Magazine last year, Lee's devoted legion of fans around the globe have nowhere to go in Hong Kong to pay
tribute to the territory's premier film star. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA