szeto wah was born in hong kong on 28 february 1931 in hong kong with the family root in chikan, kaiping, guangdong. his father, szeto ting, moved to hong kong for work during his young age. in 1941 during the japanese occupation of hong kong, his family moved back to kaiping. he recalled his patriotism grew during the war when he heard about the stories of the chinese war heroes. his mother died at the age of 38 in 1942 and his father remarried afterwards. in 1945 when the war almost ended, his family moved back to hong kong. his father died of cancer at the precious blood hospital in 1952 and was survived by his second wife and ten children.