Richie Ren gained 30kg for Doze Niu’s now-cancelled movie

​As Taiwanese director Doze Niu undergoes investigations for his alleged sexual assault towards a female staff member on the set of Pao Ma, Taiwan media confirmed yesterday that the production will be dissolved.

The crew had to film a scene last Thursday initially, however they were told to pull the brakes on it after Doze was unwittingly accused of making unwanted sexual advances towards a crew member.

According to reports, the crew was instructed not to come on set to avoid unnecessary questioning by the media, and some production staff received messages notifying them about their final payment. Another worker shared that he was notified about “dissolving” the production.

Unfortunately for Hong Kong singer-actor Richie Ren, his efforts to gain weight for the role have gone down the drain with production halted indefinitely. The singer, who originally weighed 74 kilogrammes, started piling on the pounds in March this year and now tips the scales at 100 kilogrammes.

The 52-year-old conscientiously put on weight for the role and fans who had attended his concert in August mistook him as a ‘warm-up’ act as they did not recognise him due to his rotund figure.

Having to put on so much weight during a short frame of time is not easy and Richie once shared in an interview that he gets ‘jolted awake’ because of acid reflux every night.

“My throat was swollen and my voice became raspy when I sing,” he said, adding that the well-written script made his suffering all worthwhile.

As the fate of Pao Ma is left hanging in the air, the same applies to Richie and his 30-kilogramme weight gain.