By Peggy Chan
Updated: 2008-02-13 10:58

About the scandal: Sex photos spark celeb apology

Following two weekend arrests of men in connection with recent online postings of illicit celebrity photos, actor/singer Edison Chen Kwoon-hei issued a public apology yesterday.

Police believe the arrest they made Saturday - one of seven total - is that of the man who initially uploaded the photos he found on a computer he was repairing.

Police have not released any names of suspects in the case, or the name of the computer's owner.

Another suspect was arrested Sunday, but police said they didn't find any of the photos on his computer.

The man arrested Saturday is expected to appear in court today.

Crime Assistant Commissioner of Police Vincent Wong Fook-chuen said somebody took the computer to a repair shop, where the photos were found on the hard drive and distributed unscrupulously to others.

Over 1,300 photos have been seized, and most of them are obscene. Six females were involved, four of them identified as showbiz artists. Wong refused to comment on how many men were portrayed.

Chen was among the celebrities identified in the photos that depict them in sexual acts. He publicly commented on the scandal for the first time yesterday.

"I feel painful, hurt and frustration," he said in a video released to the media by his manager. "I hereby use this opportunity to apologize to anyone who's been affected by this strange ordeal."

Chen called on anyone who possessed the images to destroy them immediately.

"Let's help the wounded heal their wound," he added, calling the photos' distribution "malicious and criminal".

He said the ongoing investigation prohibited him from commenting further. Police said the Saturday arrest took place at a computer repair shop in Central and that the man would be charged with access to a computer with criminal or dishonest intent.

In addition to Chen, the celebrities pictured also resemble Gillian Chung Yan-tung, Bobo Chan Man-woon and Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi.

The five suspects arrested last week have each been released on HK$20,000 bail. They included two women and three men.

Wong said the man arrested Sunday may also be released on bail.

Sin Chung-kai, a Legislative Council member representing information technology functional constituency, called on computer repair shops to carefully handle clients' data.

Still, the police's arrests in its recent investigation have made many Hongkongers worry that it is illegal to store obscene data on their computers, Sin said.

The Legislative Council's Information Technology and Broadcasting Panel will hold a special meeting after the lunar new year to ask for the police's explanation on the arrests.

Solicitor Vitus Leung Wing-hang, said it isn't against the law to store obscene data or share the data point-to-point.

It would also be legal, he said, for people to share obscene materials with adults, or upload the data to websites indicating they would contain sexual content.

"But a person would be in breach of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance if he or she publishes obscene materials publicly - such as on an open forum for all ages - as youths under 18 could access them," Leung said.

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