HONG KONG: Hong Kong actor Edison Chen emerged out of hiding on Thursday to speak about the sex photo scandal for the first time.

He admitted to taking the photos, and profusely apologised to all those that were hurt by the incident, which at least eight female celebrities are thought to be involved.

Chen also said that he was retiring from the Hong Kong showbiz scene for an indefinite period of time.

“I stand before you to account for myself. I’ve never escaped responsibility before. I admit the pictures were taken by me. They were private pictures and never intended to be shown to the public. They were stolen from me illegally, and distributed without my consent. I would like to apologise to those affected by what has happened. Apologise to all the ladies and their families,” he said to a packed press conference.

Hong Kong police said that some 1,300 compromising shots of celebrities that Chen was romantically linked to have been posted on the internet.

Eight starlets have been identified, including actress Cecilia Cheung, singers Joey Yung and Gillian Chung.

Popstar Chung, whose squeaky clean image took a hit, publicly admitted last week that she had been naive and silly.

Chen told the media he plans to make amends for the suffering that has been caused.

“I’ve decided to step away from Hong Kong show business, and do some soul searching, and will do charity and community work in the next few months. My priority is to stop the suffering and pain. We don’t want this situation to get out of control. In this regard, I’ve instructed my lawyers to protect all the innocent victims in this case,” he said.

Chen also sounded a cautionary note to youngsters who look up to celebrities as role models.

“I’ve failed you all as a role model. To all (the) young people out there, let this be a lesson to you. I hope you can forgive me, give me another chance.”

Mainland police have nabbed ten people in China for selling discs containing the sex photos, which were also reportedly being sold in Singapore.

China’s biggest internet search engine Baidu.com also had to apologise for allowing the explicit photos to be posted on its site.

The photos have triggered fresh controversy in Hong Kong as well. The Obscene Articles Tribunal has classified the photos published in two local magazines as neither obscene nor indecent because the pictures of the celebrities engaged in sex acts were strategically blacked-out.

The Hong Kong government is now under pressure after receiving hundreds of complaints from the public. It may also push for privacy law reform to make uploading and passing stolen computer data an offence. - CNA/ac

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BEIJING - Police have arrested 10 people in China for producing, selling and buying explicit photos of Hong Kong celebrities, state media reported Wednesday, as the fallout from the scandal rumbled on.

Police in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen have confiscated around 250 discs and six computers with images of actor-singer Edison Chen and a string of starlets in compromising positions, Xinhua news agency reported.

Three suspects were held for five days, and two others were being held under criminal detention and questioned by police, the report said, citing the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Xinhua did not provide any details on the other five detained.

“The police authorities will severely crack down on the criminal activities of manufacturing, selling and spreading discs of Hong Kong’s celebrity photos and other pornography productions,” a police spokesman was quoted as saying.

The photos of Chen and at least seven stars — including Cantopop singer Gillian Chung, actress Cecilia Cheung and former actress Bobo Chan began appearing last month on the Internet.

Chen has been romantically linked to all three in the past. Media reports say the photos were copied from Chen’s computer when he sent it in for repairs.

Last week, Chen issued a statement on video website YouTube, in which he apologised to “anyone who has been affected by this strange, strange ordeal.”

Hong Kong police have made several arrests linked to the case, but have faced criticism that they have been over-zealous. A charge against one Hong Kong man detained over the photos was dropped last week.

On Tuesday, Chinese censors ordered the nation’s most popular Internet search engine, Baidu, to apologise for allowing the sexually-explicit photos to be published on its site.

In a separate Xinhua report, more than 40 domestic websites have supported a joint statement by 13 Chinese portals to prevent the spread of the photos. - AFP/ar

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HONG KONG: Hong Kong pop star Gillian Chung has spoken out for the first time since the celebrity sex-photo scandal that’s dominated headlines in the territory for the past two weeks.

At least eight other actresses including Cecilia Cheung and Bobo Chan are also implicated in the scandal, along with singer-actor Edison Chen.

In a meet-the-fans session, the singer from the Canto-pop duo “Twins” didn’t deny the authenticity of the compromising photos of her and actor Edison Chen floating on the internet.

Gillian Chung said: “Before, I was very naive and silly. But now I’m more mature. I thank my management, family and friends for taking care of me and for their support.”

“I regret the incident and its effect on the public. I will continue to work hard, and face the future positively,” she added.

This isn’t the first time nude pictures of Chung have surfaced.

In August 2006, local magazine Easyfinder was slammed for publishing pictures that were taken secretly when the singer was changing backstage at a concert in Malaysia.

The twists and turns of the latest scandal have dominated the Hong Kong media for weeks.

Initially, the photos were thought to be fakes.

It’s believed the images were taken from singer-actor Edison Chen’s computer when he sent it in for repairs. However, police have not confirmed this.

Chen has apologised to those affected via a taped video message and said he is helping police with investigations.

Eight people have been arrested so far, but the first suspect to be nabbed, has been denied bail.

Investigations on the hundreds of photos that are circulating on the internet are ongoing.

Many have expressed support for the female artistes affected.

A teenage boy said: “It hurts the person, and she won’t be happy about it. They shouldn’t be posting such pictures.”

Meanwhile, a young woman said: “They are wrong to post these pictures. But since it’s already out there, I hope the artistes won’t be too affected by this.”

“I hope the government will be able to legislate, so that those responsible and bold enough to post such pictures will not avoid prosecution. A lot of children have access to the internet, and they shouldn’t be exposed to such photos,” she added.

Another lady said: “In this digital age, you can easily manipulate photos by cropping off heads onto another body. As for this particular case, I think the individuals themselves are responsible, because they brought it on themselves. ”

This scandal is arguably one of the biggest to rock Hong Kong’s showbiz world. And it has left the Hong Kong people of two minds on the issue.

Fans of these celebrities are quick to defend their idols, while internet users protest against alleged double-standards by the police in arresting those accused of uploading the pictures.

About 300 internet users took to the streets Sunday, claiming that the police had failed to investigate other cases of nude photos released without permission.

Police have also clarified that it’s not illegal to transfer obscene picture files to friends but putting them onto a public domain, is. -CNA/vm

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