HK star's nude photos lead to arrests in China
2008-03-02

Nations China States Hunan People Edison Chen Event 2008 HK Sex Photo Scandal

China has arrested two more people for posting nude photos of Hong Kong pop stars on the Internet, state media said on Saturday.

The two were sentenced to five days detention for spreading at least ten photos of singer and actor Edison Chen in bed with female celebrities, a scandal that has touched off a media frenzy in Hong Kong and feverish downloading of the photos.

The two men were arrested in the central province of Hunan after an online post showing the nude photos attracted more than 100,000 hits, Xinhua news agency said.

Eleven others across the country have already been detained for producing or selling the photos or posting them on the Internet, Xinhua said.

Some 1,300 private shots of the celebrities were stolen by the staff of a computer repair shop from a faulty laptop believed to belong to Chen, Hong Kong police have said.

Last week, Chen said he would quit the Hong Kong entertainment industry to "heal himself."

The Canada-born Chen, a hip hop artist and Asian film star, has admitted that most of the pictures circulating on the Internet had been taken by him and said that he never intended to show them to anyone.

Hong Kong police have made at least 10 arrests in connection with the scandal.

China prohibits the production or distribution of "pornographic products even without the purpose of making profit" and offenders can face detention of up to 15 days, Xinhua said.

(Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch)