Edison Scandal
Diante Scharsch
In 2008, intimate and private photographs of Hong Kong actor Edison Chen with various women, including actresses Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan, Rachel Ngan, and Cecilia Cheung, were unlawfully distributed over the Internet.[1] The scandal shook the Hong Kong entertainment industry and received high-profile media attention locally and around the world. Many local newspapers headlined the story consecutively during the first fortnight of February 2008, relegating coverage of the 2008 Chinese winter storms to secondary prominence during Lunar New Year.
In a crackdown which itself became a controversial item, the Hong Kong police enlisted the assistance of Interpol to stem the spread of the photographs.[2] Ten people were arrested in connection with the distribution of the photographs.[3] A computer technician was convicted of three counts of obtaining access to a computer with dishonest intent, and received a custodial sentence of eight and a half months.[4]
The police crackdown raised questions over violations of the privacy and free speech rights of Internet users.[5] The manner in which actors, their management, and the police handled the situation, in turn, made those arrested into heroes for some Internet users.[6]
Chen admitted being the author and copyright owner of most of the photographs, and stated that the private photographs had been stolen and published illegally without his consent. He made a public apology, especially to the women involved, and also announced that he would "step away indefinitely" from the Hong Kong entertainment industry.[7]
In November 2006, Chen purchased a pink PowerBook personal computer, a photograph of which he published on his blog. It may have come from Elite Multimedia, a computer shop in Hong Kong's Central district.[8] According to the police, Chen brought his computer to the shop for repairs in 2007. Employees who discovered over 1,300 intimate photographs of Chen and numerous female celebrities may have secretly copied these files.[9][10][11] According to Chen, the image files were deleted before the computer was taken in for repairs.[12]
Chen's photographs were reportedly made sometime between 2003[13] and 2006.[14] One close friend indicated that Chen liked to take photographs during intimate moments with his sexual partners, of whom 14 were celebrities, and privately showed these to a select group of close friends.[15]
The first intimate photograph, with likenesses of Chen and Gillian Chung, was posted on the Hong Kong Discuss Forum at approximately 8:30 p.m. on 27 January 2008. Although the original post was deleted after a few hours, the image did the rounds at other major forums in Hong Kong such as Uwants and HKGolden. Chung's management agency, Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), immediately challenged its authenticity, and filed a police report. The following day, a second explicit photograph of Chen with another starlet appeared on the Internet. EEG denounced the person who released it. Gillian Chung had taken a leave of absence, and would not comment on the matter. Shaped by the denials, the initial media consensus was that the photographs were hoaxes.[16][17] Nevertheless, the story became the headline of major local Hong Kong newspapers.
Over a few hours on 29 January, several more photographs appeared on the Internet. On one, journals identified Cecilia Cheung from her distinctive tattoo set.[18] The photographs became the talk of the town, and local discussion forums became saturated.[19] Journals established with known video footage that the photographs were taken inside Chen's residence.[20] Nevertheless, Cheung's solicitors denounced the upload as a "malicious, immoral and irresponsible act".[14]
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vincent Wong Fook-chuen said that 19 officers from the Commercial Crime Bureau were investigating.[21] The police and photographic experts authenticated the photos involving the first three female celebrities.[22] Police requested Internet service providers to stamp out all local traces of the as yet unclassified "offensive material". Related discussion threads were progressively deleted.[23] The police retrieved the IP addresses of more than 30 Internet users who allegedly posted photographs.[23]
At this time I am not able to discuss matters related to the case, but I do feel it is my obligation to accept full responsibility and take action to help both the victims and those associated with them to heal their wounds.
In this regard, I plead with everyone to please stop forwarding the images on the Internet. Furthermore, to completely rid the images from your computer...
After the exposure of the eighth photograph, Chen quietly left Hong Kong and flew to Boston.[15] On 4 February, Chen released a 90-second video clip in English[25] in which he took responsibility and apologised to those who may have been affected by the posting of photographs.[26]
On 6 February, a forum user leaked hundreds more photographs in defiance of the police. The uploader, dubbed by the public as "Kira",[27] promised to release a 32-minute video the next day.[28] Two days later, three pictures of a young woman showering appeared on the Internet. The subject was rapidly identified as 18-year-old Vincy Yeung, Chen's girlfriend and niece of Albert Yeung, chairman of EEG.[29] The police confirmed these three images were among the 1,300 photographs known to them. Having said there were only six participants, the police explained the appearance of a seventh, saying that her photographs had been erroneously grouped with one of the other females.
...society as a whole has been affected by this. In this regard, I am deeply saddened. I would like now to apologize to all the people for all the suffering that has been caused and the problems that have arisen from this. I would like to apologize to all the ladies and to all their families for any harm or hurt that they have been feeling...Most importantly, I would like to say sorry to all the people of Hong Kong.
Chen returned to Hong Kong on 21 February, and immediately held a press conference asking for forgiveness and announcing his indefinite departure from the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Chen confirmed that the photographs belonged to him and were private, and stated that they were obtained without his consent and then made public.[37] His lawyer emphasised that reproduction whether in whole or in part would constitute copyright infringement.[7]
Chen was questioned by police for several days consecutively, and Sing Tao Daily revealed that a cache of computer disks and other storage devices containing in excess of 10,000 images were found in Chen's residence. Media reported that five "new" celebrities had been identified by police, who gave only cryptic descriptions.[38][39] Investigations were said to have been hampered by Chen's caution, and by the lack of co-operation of the "new" female victims: some had left town, and one had already publicly denied her involvement.[38] Chen denied that he had been blackmailed.[38]
Over the course of the two-week period, a total of over a hundred images each of Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan, Candice Chan, and Cecilia Cheung fellating him were exposed, as well as Chen performing cunnilingus to Chung; there were also approximately another hundred nude photos featuring various others, namely Mandy Chen, Rachel Ngan, Maggie Q[40][unreliable source?] and Vincy Yeung, who was photographed while taking a bath.
On 31 January 2008, an unemployed man identified as 29-year-old Chung Yik-tin (鍾亦天) was arrested for allegedly uploading one image;[41] 12 pictures were found on his computer. The next day he was arraigned but denied bail because he was suspected of blackmailing the actor and actresses.[42] Chung Yik-tin spent Chinese New Year in detention. After investigating the connection between the suspect and artists, the police were satisfied that blackmail was not involved.[21][42] Chung was unconditionally released from detention on 15 February, and charges against him were dropped.[43]
On 2 February, police arrested four men and two women in connection with the distribution of the photographs. Of the six, three men and a woman were released on HK$20,000 (US$2,560) bail and ordered to report back to the police in eight weeks.[44] On 4 February, a 29-year-old man became the eighth person to be detained in connection with the disseminating of nude photos;[3] 23-year-old Sze Ho-Chun (史可雋) was also arrested. He was charged with "dishonest use of computers with criminal intent", which has a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. Sze appeared in Eastern Court on 5 February,[21][26] where he denied the charge and was released on HK$50,000 bail. The case was adjourned to 22 February.[45]
Assistant Commissioner Wong said the source of the pictures had been traced, but he would not confirm reports stating that they had been taken from Chen's computer. He added that the authenticity of the photographs was no longer in question. Wong also said of the six women found in the photographs, four were local celebrities and two were unknown to the police. None of the women were named.[21] Wong was certain that no overseas artists were involved.[26] He said that whilst it was not a crime to transfer the pictures to friends, those who had posted the images to Internet web pages could be in breach of the law.[21][26] On 5 February, as another of the suspects was released on HK$50,000 bail, six more related photographs surfaced on the Internet.[45] In the early hours on Chinese New Year's Eve, several hundred more photographs appeared on the Internet; there were two new faces.[46]
Arrest number ten occurred on 10 February.[47] Kwok Chun-wai, a 24-year-old logistics clerk, had allegedly posted the link to a local discussion forum after uploading a compressed file containing over a hundred images to a site in Cyprus. Kwok was released on HK$10,000 bail.[48] He pleaded guilty to three counts of publishing an obscene article.[49] On 24 July 2008, he was sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for two years.[50]
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