Chow: In good shape

Hong Kong, Feb. 29 (AP): Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat has filed a defamation suit against a tabloid magazine for publishing a story that claimed that the action actor was seeking treatment for an acute illness, a newspaper reported today.

Chow, star of the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Anna and the King, filed court documents yesterday accusing the Easy Finder of publishing a “false and fabricated” article in its January 28 edition, the South China Morning Post reported.

The report didn’t give details of the Chinese-language magazine article.

The documents said Chow “has been and is” in good health, and has “suffered loss and damage to his professional career as an actor and in particular an action movie star”, the Post said.

“Chow has further suffered grave distress and embarrassment arising from the speculation, concern and doubt about his fitness caused by the false statements published in the article,” the documents said.

The newspaper said the magazine has refused to publish an apology despite a demand from Chow’s lawyers, and the star is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction to stop further publication of the claims.

The Easy Finder’s editor could not be reached for comment.