Veteran Hong Kong martial arts actor Norman Chui died in Beijing on Sept 1.

According to Hong Kong media, the 73-year-old suffered from oesophageal cancer and his wife, who was 30 years younger, died a few days after.

His long-time friend, Hong Kong actor Tin Kai Man, told As1 that she felt unwell while preparing his funeral and likely had a heart attack.

"He didn't know he had cancer. Some older folks don't like to do health checks so he died quite soon. I met him at Hengdian a long time ago and a common friend met him in January this year. He was well then and he said he was living in Beijing," Kai Man told the online publication.