Jonathan Lee Nam Heng, known as “Singaporean Chow Yun Fat”, is one of the most familiar Singaporean male entertainers to Chinese audiences. Since his debut in 1986, he has had more than 30 years of performing experience. From 1994 to 2003, he was voted the most popular male artist in Singapore’s most popular entertainment ceremony “Star Awards”. However, behind all these halos, few people know that he was actually addicted to gambling for many years, and he had huge gambling debts. He even had to use alcohol to anesthetize himself and escape life.
Recently, this famous entertainer participated in Sparking, a testimony program of Hong Kong CBN, and revealed the absurdity of the first half of his own life. He also witnessed that Jesus kept looking after him when he was at a low point in his life, saving him step by step and giving him a new life.
Lee Nam Heng said that he was thriving in the entertainment industry at that time, but still worried that his contract would be interrupted at any time, so he started his own investment business, but unexpectedly he was cheated by his partner out of one million Singapore dollars (around five million yuan). With his back against the wall, he began to try to win money by gambling to maintain the operation of the business. He started losing money from the very beginning and was unwilling to stop. Driven by the mentality of “I must win back”, he borrowed money from the casino to continue gambling and got deeper and deeper into debt, eventually reaching up to 3 million Singapore dollars.
“Everything was going so well before. Why has it come to this now?” Then he began looking for a way out, such as asking help from the feng shui master and fortune-telling master. He also went to Thailand for a Buddha card for protection, but the situation just kept getting worse. He faced a string of desperate situations: arrested for drunk driving, sued for rent arrears, attacked by evil spirits at night, and forced to close all seven of his shops. He fell into depression and attempted suicide several times.
During this period, a friend intended to take him to church, but when others mentioned Jesus, he resisted. “I refused him for months, but he was like Jesus. He called me every day.”
Then, an experience completely changed Lee’s mentality. He shared that he got another call from this friend when he was drunk in a swanky nightclub in Thailand. While talking on the phone, he walked toward the exit of the nightclub on the third floor in a daze. He just opened the door and before he could say anything, he missed his step and fell. “There’s something wrapping around me,” he said. In this way, he did not completely fall. That’s why he had a chance to shout for help.
After being rescued, he went back to the hotel, but he was wondering what kept him from the danger. “If I fell down, I would have died. I weigh 70 kilograms. After drinking, I am over 90 kilograms, just like a pig. So, who protected me?”
Then his friend called again to inquire about the situation. Just then he realized that three ministers from his friend’s church group had just prayed for him, “Lee Nam Heng is in a foreign country, and our God will protect him.”
“Did your God really save me?” After going back to Singapore, Lee went to a friend to thank him. He also went to the church to kneel before the cross for hours to express his pain. “There was a cross in front. When everyone had left, I knelt down. When I had no one to complain to, I poured out all the words I had bottled up inside. I failed in business and cheated. I lost a lot of money in the casino. Please save me. What should I do?”
Finally, Lee became a Christian in 2003. He quit gambling, drinking, and smoking. The partner who cheated him before also compensated for his loss, so he no longer had to bear the company’s debts. Fortunately, an entertainment company was willing to tailor a TV series for him, and fans welcomed him back to film reviews, and his career blossomed again.
“I really want to thank God, who has given me this opportunity, and this group of brothers and sisters who pray for me every day,” he said.
After 2010, the celebrity began to share his testimony in different churches. In 2015, he wrote a book called The Real Picture with his own experience, hoping to persuade people to turn back and warn them not to fall into gambling. He said he was willing to share his “dirty laundry” so that people could know Jesus.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
李南星是中国观众最熟悉的新加坡男艺人之一。素有“新加坡周润发”之称。自1986年出道以来，已有超过30多年的演艺经历，从1994年到2003年连续十年当选新加坡最受关注娱乐典礼“红星大奖”（Star Awards）最受欢迎男艺人，然而，角色光鲜的背后，很少有人知道他实际上也沉迷于赌博多年，赌债缠身，甚至不得不用烟酒还麻醉自己，酗酒逃避人生。
日前，这位著名的艺人影帝做客香港CBN《星火飞腾》见证节目，袒露心扉，回顾自己曾经的荒唐人生，见证耶稣在他人生低谷时却一直寻找他，步步拯救他，让他焕发新的生命。
李南星见证说，他当时在演艺圈风生水起，但仍担心演艺合同随时会中断，所以开始自己投资做生意，却没想到一下被合伙人骗了新币100万元（1新加坡元=5.0357人民币）。走投无路的情况下，他竟然开始尝试希望靠赌博赢钱来维持生意的运营。他一开始就输钱，输了又不甘心，带着“我一定要赢回来”的心态又向赌场借钱继续赌，越陷越深，最后债台高筑，高达300万新币。
“之前一帆风顺，为什么现在落到如此地步呢？”于是，李南星开始到处寻找出路，比如找风水法师、算命师父，也到泰国求大佛牌来戴，但情况反而更糟，让他面临一连串绝望的情况：因醉酒驾车被捕、拖欠房租被人起诉、晚上被邪灵攻击、七间店铺全部倒闭，自己陷入抑郁症甚至多次想自杀。
这期间，其实也有一位朋友想带他去教会，但别人一提耶稣他就抗拒。可是这位朋友丝毫不沮丧：“我拒绝了他几个月，但他就像耶稣，每天致电我。”
后来，一次经历彻底改变了李南星的心态。他分享说，有一次她在泰国一家豪华夜总会喝的大醉时，又接到这个朋友电话，一边打电话，一边迷迷糊糊走向夜总会三楼的出口，刚推开门什么都没来得及跟对方说，就一脚踩空往下掉，“有东西包着我，”这样，导致他没有完全掉下去，才有机会大呼救命。
获救之后，他回到酒店想：“刚才跌下去的话会死，我本身70公斤，喝酒后整个人超过90公斤，像一头猪，是什么捉着我？”
这时朋友又打来电话询问情况，他才知道，就在刚才他的朋友所在的教会小组三个牧师在一起为他祷告：“李南星身在国外，我们的上帝会保护他。”
“真的是你的神救了我吗？”回到新加坡后，李南星去找朋友道谢，也来到教会跪在十字架面前几个小时倾诉自己内心的痛苦，“前面有个十字架，全部人离开后，我上前跪下，我找不到人诉苦，我就把闷在心里的话全吐出来，生意失败、遭人欺骗，上赌场输了多少钱，救救我，该怎么办？”
最终，李南星在2003年决志信主，此后戒掉了赌瘾、酒瘾、烟瘾，而之前骗他的合伙人竟然也赔偿了他的损失，从此他不用再承担公司债务。幸运的是，有演艺公司愿意为他量身打造电视剧，影迷们也欢迎他回归影评，他的演艺生涯再度开花。
他说：“真正要感谢的是我们的上帝，是祂赐我这个机会，背后这群弟兄姊妹也每天为我祈祷。”
2010年后，李南星开始在不同教会分享自己的见证，2015年以亲身的经历由他人撰笔写就《真实戏剧》（The Real Picture）一书，他希望以“赌王”身份劝人回头，告诫大家不要陷入到赌博之中。同时，他表示，之所以分享“自己的丑事”，是希望借着这样的分享让大家认识耶稣。
“新加坡周润发”艺人李南星：赌瘾酒瘾烟瘾 人生低谷中上帝步步拯救了我
Jonathan Lee Nam Heng, known as “Singaporean Chow Yun Fat”, is one of the most familiar Singaporean male entertainers to Chinese audiences. Since his debut in 1986, he has had more than 30 years of performing experience. From 1994 to 2003, he was voted the most popular male artist in Singapore’s most popular entertainment ceremony “Star Awards”. However, behind all these halos, few people know that he was actually addicted to gambling for many years, and he had huge gambling debts. He even had to use alcohol to anesthetize himself and escape life.
Recently, this famous entertainer participated in Sparking, a testimony program of Hong Kong CBN, and revealed the absurdity of the first half of his own life. He also witnessed that Jesus kept looking after him when he was at a low point in his life, saving him step by step and giving him a new life.
Lee Nam Heng said that he was thriving in the entertainment industry at that time, but still worried that his contract would be interrupted at any time, so he started his own investment business, but unexpectedly he was cheated by his partner out of one million Singapore dollars (around five million yuan). With his back against the wall, he began to try to win money by gambling to maintain the operation of the business. He started losing money from the very beginning and was unwilling to stop. Driven by the mentality of “I must win back”, he borrowed money from the casino to continue gambling and got deeper and deeper into debt, eventually reaching up to 3 million Singapore dollars.
“Everything was going so well before. Why has it come to this now?” Then he began looking for a way out, such as asking help from the feng shui master and fortune-telling master. He also went to Thailand for a Buddha card for protection, but the situation just kept getting worse. He faced a string of desperate situations: arrested for drunk driving, sued for rent arrears, attacked by evil spirits at night, and forced to close all seven of his shops. He fell into depression and attempted suicide several times.
During this period, a friend intended to take him to church, but when others mentioned Jesus, he resisted. “I refused him for months, but he was like Jesus. He called me every day.”
Then, an experience completely changed Lee’s mentality. He shared that he got another call from this friend when he was drunk in a swanky nightclub in Thailand. While talking on the phone, he walked toward the exit of the nightclub on the third floor in a daze. He just opened the door and before he could say anything, he missed his step and fell. “There’s something wrapping around me,” he said. In this way, he did not completely fall. That’s why he had a chance to shout for help.
After being rescued, he went back to the hotel, but he was wondering what kept him from the danger. “If I fell down, I would have died. I weigh 70 kilograms. After drinking, I am over 90 kilograms, just like a pig. So, who protected me?”
Then his friend called again to inquire about the situation. Just then he realized that three ministers from his friend’s church group had just prayed for him, “Lee Nam Heng is in a foreign country, and our God will protect him.”
“Did your God really save me?” After going back to Singapore, Lee went to a friend to thank him. He also went to the church to kneel before the cross for hours to express his pain. “There was a cross in front. When everyone had left, I knelt down. When I had no one to complain to, I poured out all the words I had bottled up inside. I failed in business and cheated. I lost a lot of money in the casino. Please save me. What should I do?”
Finally, Lee became a Christian in 2003. He quit gambling, drinking, and smoking. The partner who cheated him before also compensated for his loss, so he no longer had to bear the company’s debts. Fortunately, an entertainment company was willing to tailor a TV series for him, and fans welcomed him back to film reviews, and his career blossomed again.
“I really want to thank God, who has given me this opportunity, and this group of brothers and sisters who pray for me every day,” he said.
After 2010, the celebrity began to share his testimony in different churches. In 2015, he wrote a book called The Real Picture with his own experience, hoping to persuade people to turn back and warn them not to fall into gambling. He said he was willing to share his “dirty laundry” so that people could know Jesus.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Superstar of Singapore Jonathan Lee Nam Heng: 'God Has Saved Me from Addictions'
