IT TOOK JUST A few agonising moments to bring singing star Irene Ryder's career to an abrupt halt. She was returning home to her Hillwood Road flat in Happy Valley from a visit to a hair salon when her nightmare began.
At the height of her fame, and at the time, in 1977, Ryder was singing to packed houses all over Hong Kong, in addition to modelling and starring in movies. In one famous incident, she was mobbed by enthusiastic fans in Central.
As she approached the outside of her building she pulled her keys out of her handbag and reached to unlock the door. But she had an uneasy feeling, a slight sense of being followed yet no inkling of what was to come.
Suddenly, from behind an attacker hurled burning fluid all over her. As she spun round her hair was set alight.
The attacker fled into the night, leaving her ablaze on her own doorstep.
While trying to rescue herself from the agonising flames which rapidly spread to her face and body, Ryder tore off her blazing coat and vest and clapped her hands over her face in vain.
Within seconds her sunglasses became so hot they melted into the skin around her nose and eyes. The scars are still visible today. She lost most of one ear, which she now covers with hair. One side of her face became so badly swollen after the attack that she needed extensive skin grafts and reconstructive surgery.