Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=367999&type=National
Man given 2 months in jail over celebrity nude photos
Created: 2008-7-24 16:40:28, Updated: 2008-7-24 17:56:03
Author:Li Xinran
A HONG Kong man has become the first person to be convicted of uploading nude photos onto the Internet of actor and singer Edison Chen.
Kowloon City Magistrates' Court sentenced Kwok Chun-wai to two months in prison with two years of probation, according to Sina.com.
Kwok, 24, was found uploading about 140 explicit photos of Chen and several female celebrities in January and February. Eighty-four photos were judged to be obscene.
The magistrate said it was necessary to jail Guo because the photographs brought harm to the people in them even though the defendant didn't earn any money from the images.
Kwok was reportedly an office clerk at a logistics company and was studying for a bachelor's degree.
Kwok had petitioned for bail, but the court refused.
Kwok confessed when he was detained, but said he only wished to share the photos with friends, the report said.
Police on the mainland also took action to crack down on the distribution of sexually explicit photos featuring Chen.
At least 13 people have been arrested on the Chinese mainland in connection with the photos. Chinese law prohibits the production, duplication, selling or circulation of pornographic products.
A 25-year-old man, surnamed Wei, was arrested on February 12 for allegedly uploading 1,174 shots onto a chat room site. The photos featured Chen with female celebrities, according to the Internet supervision police brigade in Zibo City.
Another man, surnamed Li, was detained for 10 days and fined 3,000 yuan (US$420) on February 15 for uploading more than 180 copies of the photos to his personal Webpage.
Police in Tai'an, in Shandong, said Li, 21, provided links and codes to access the photos through his Webpage to solicit visits and increase the popularity of his Webpage.
The photos, reportedly copied by a computer repair shop assistant from a faulty laptop believed to belong to Chen, began to appear on the Internet on January 27.
On February 21, Chen made a public apology and announced that he would quit the Hong Kong entertainment industry. He admitted that he took most of the photos.
"These photos were very private and have not been shown to people and were never intended to be shown to anyone," he said at the time.
Kowloon City Magistrates' Court sentenced Kwok Chun-wai to two months in prison with two years of probation, according to Sina.com.
Kwok, 24, was found uploading about 140 explicit photos of Chen and several female celebrities in January and February. Eighty-four photos were judged to be obscene.
The magistrate said it was necessary to jail Guo because the photographs brought harm to the people in them even though the defendant didn't earn any money from the images.
Kwok was reportedly an office clerk at a logistics company and was studying for a bachelor's degree.
Kwok had petitioned for bail, but the court refused.
Kwok confessed when he was detained, but said he only wished to share the photos with friends, the report said.
Police on the mainland also took action to crack down on the distribution of sexually explicit photos featuring Chen.
At least 13 people have been arrested on the Chinese mainland in connection with the photos. Chinese law prohibits the production, duplication, selling or circulation of pornographic products.
A 25-year-old man, surnamed Wei, was arrested on February 12 for allegedly uploading 1,174 shots onto a chat room site. The photos featured Chen with female celebrities, according to the Internet supervision police brigade in Zibo City.
Another man, surnamed Li, was detained for 10 days and fined 3,000 yuan (US$420) on February 15 for uploading more than 180 copies of the photos to his personal Webpage.
Police in Tai'an, in Shandong, said Li, 21, provided links and codes to access the photos through his Webpage to solicit visits and increase the popularity of his Webpage.
The photos, reportedly copied by a computer repair shop assistant from a faulty laptop believed to belong to Chen, began to appear on the Internet on January 27.
On February 21, Chen made a public apology and announced that he would quit the Hong Kong entertainment industry. He admitted that he took most of the photos.
"These photos were very private and have not been shown to people and were never intended to be shown to anyone," he said at the time.
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