Haing was born in Samrong Young Cambodia and trained to be a surgeon and genecologist. While in the capital the Pol Pot regime took place. Haing had to conceal his education in order to not be killed. However, his wife died giving birth because Haing couldn't help her. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge he worked as a doctor in a refugee camp in Thailand before eventually leaving for the United States on August 30th, 1980. Ngor was cast as Dith Pran in the movie The Killing Fields in 1984 and later won three awards for doing so. Haing was also casted in a few other roles and the Dr. Haing S. Ngor Foundation was created in 1990 to preserve his legacy and human rights and to promote Cambodia's history. On February 25th 1996, Haing was shot outside his home in downtown LA