Photos purportedly showing a Hong Kong actor partially nude with several starlets were copied from his computer when it was serviced last year and later distributed over the Internet, a newspaper reported on Monday.
The photographs, seemingly of actor and singer Edison Chen in bed with singer Gillian Chung Yun-tung , along with suggestive images of actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi , were recently posted online, sparking a media frenzy in the celebrity-mad former British colony.
While Chung's company, Emperor Entertainment Group, initially said the photograph of the normally squeaky-clean star was a digital fake, recent media reports have suggested otherwise.
Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper reported that Edison Chen Koon-hei, 27, had the images copied from his faulty personal computer last year, when he took it for servicing.
'A person in the shop found hidden inside [Chen's] computer, confidential nude pictures of naked female stars, which were then secretly copied,' Ming Pao reported, quoting an anonymous source.
The computer shop was subsequently raided by police officers in a widening investigation across the territory, which has led to eight arrests for infringing obscene material laws, and the seizure of hundreds of other explicit images, many unpublished.
In a statement on his blog (www.clotinc.com/blogs/public/edc) over the weekend, Chen criticised some of the recent media coverage.
'I would like for u [sic] to respect the situation that everyone is in and report the truth to the fullest.'
He didn't clarify whether the images had been faked or stolen, but his manager said Chen would co-operate with the police investigation.
Hong Kong's police commissioner, Tang King-shing, said the case was being treated seriously and warned the possession and distribution of such images might be illegal.
But Internet users and activists have since challenged this position, saying the police were being overly harsh.
Meanwhile, the police have also rejected criticism that they might have used too many officers to investigate the case.
There have been reports the police had 100 officers involved in the investigation. Civic Party legislator Ronnie Tong Ka-wah told local radio on Monday he believed police may have over-reacted.
SCMP Feb 4, 2008
4 comments:
Thanks for Edison Chen, he damages the positive image of Hong Kong Canton-music industry. Meanwhile, many teenagers can release that their idols are not squeaky-clean. It is good for them to open their eyes to see the truth of world. In my point of view, being a person, personality is rather important than the appearance.
Well, well. In the polices' view, the case was over, but in the public view. It's only the ending of first scene. And now, the second scene is almost to begin. How Cecilia and her mother-in-law are going to do? How Gillian do as a member of Twins? And how Bobo and her fiance handle their wedding?
Personally, I think Cecilia and Bobo's cases would be easier to be handled, It's because Cecilia is notorious for her behaviour such as something like this time. Then, 'cause Bobo is Edison's ex-girlfriend, I think it's quite popular to do such thing (but I'm not sure if it is popular to take photo while having such 'service'.).
At last, Gillian. I couldn't imagine how she could do after this, since she used to give a pure and cute image to the public which had been totally destroyed.
Young souls with immature minds are easily drifted off course throughout their path of learning.
As public icon, idols of the Canton-Music industry, they should create a pure and just image to growing younsters. These children are vulnerable and easily affected by their surroundings. Without a clear understanding and analytic mind, children are surely unable to distinguish between good and evil.
Once the photos are proven to be real, the effect would be even more severe. As the topic of sex is most sentisitive, and dangerous to some extend towards children, this issue would be even more difficult to be explained.
The whole of Hong Kong has been discussing the genuineness of the photos, however this matter should not be the point of issue. The matter should be the effect towards young people and the rights of making personal information public.
This is a difficult task for the parties involved to handle. For the police, is it fair for them to handle this case in such a high profile? Imagine if the people involved were not celebrities, would they have got the same priority? For the music industry, I think teenagers should realise that the entertainment industry is not a place where you can find purity and sincerity. For the public as a whole, it is time for them to understand the importance of data security. Many computer users have no sense of protecting their PCs from viruses and spyware. Although the current case doesn't involve hacking, it is still a good reflection for us to consider the seriousness of data protection.
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