A teenage girl has long been plagued by her name Liu Dehua, a name same with the Hong Kong popular singer Andy Lau's Chinese name, the China Business Morning News reports.

Because of this name, the girl from Shenyang, Liaoning Province has been laughed at by others.

"What I feel most reluctant to do is to present my identification card. I'm afraid of people bursting into laughter at the sight of my name," she said.

She brought her residence booklet last week to the local public security bureau and asked for a name change, but was refused.

The bureau staff said a person above 18 is not allowed to change names except in very rare cases.

(China Daily June 24, 2005)