Hong Kong police are investigating Jackie Chan for saying his life is like something out of, dare I say, an action flick. While speaking with Guangzhou-based magazine Southern People Weekly, Chan recalled how he did something most Hong Kong actors were afraid to: stand up to gangsters by carrying guns and grenades.
In that interview (via May Daily), Chan allegedly talks about how gangsters would threaten actors by pointing weapons at them, and telling them that they were going to make a movie.
Chan is quoted as saying (via South China Morning Post): "In the past, when they bullied me, I hid in the United States. They opened fire at me once I got off the aeroplane. From that moment on, I needed to carry a gun every day when I went out. When I returned to Hong Kong and ate outside, more than twenty people surrounded me with melon knives."
"I pulled out a gun, and had two more concealed. I told them they had been going too far and that I had been hiding from them. Later on, I confronted them with two guns and six grenades." Because one isn't scary enough?
In Hong Kong, guns are heavily regulated. Carrying a weapon requires a license, and it's unclear if Chan was ever issued one. And no, there are no grenade licenses.
Breaking Hong Kong laws can result in up to fourteen years in prison or the equivalent of a US$12,000 fine. Police are investigating the claims, which, considering how long ago they happened, and that Chan could be making this up, will be hard to prove. Some even think the Hong Kong police is investigating Chan as PR stunt—a way to show how serious they are about crime.
Chan has apparently commented on his verified microblogging site, writing, "I told the media about my unruly behavior to express that I had the thought of resorting to violence because of my lack of education. I cannot express myself properly sometimes, I only want to say that people need discipline, and our government should manage the public and resources in a fair way."
If twenty gangsters show up when Jackie Chan is eating, shouldn't he beat all of them up with a pair of chopsticks, his chair, and the tablecloth? That's how it always goes in his movies.
Police to question Jackie Chan on gun claims [South China Morning Post]
Jackie Chan's guns were no fake stunt [Global Times via Beijing Cream]
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