HK director Benny Chan dead at 58, best known for Jackie Chan's 'New Police Story'

Hong Kong director Benny Chan at a 2016 press conference in Kuala Lumpur for the movie Call Of Heroes. Photo: THE STAR/Filepic

Hong Kong director Benny Chan Muk-Sing, who is best known for directing Jackie Chan movies such as New Police Story and Who Am I?, died yesterday (August 23) after a battle with nasopharyngeal cancer. He was 58.

According to reports by Hong Kong media, Chan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer (or nose cancer) last year after falling ill while filming his final film, Raging Fire, starring Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse. Although he finished directing Raging Fire, he was unable to complete post-production on the film.

Chan began his career as an assistant to acclaimed director Johhnie To while in TVB, before moving on to directing his own films. He made his directorial debut in 1990 with A Moment of Romance, produced by To and starring Andy Lau and Jacklyn Wu. Veteran actor Ng Man-tat later won Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in the film.

In 1996, Chan directed, produced and co-wrote the critically acclaimed Big Bullet, which won awards for film editing at the Golden Horse Film Festival and the Hong Kong Film Awards that year.

Chan on the set of Shaolin in 2010.