Student detained over dormitory photographs

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-7-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A STUDENT at a university in Hainan Province has been detained for taking candid photos of female students and posting them on the Internet.

The unnamed male at Hainan Normal University in the southern island province took 453 photos of women in a dormitory building opposite his own. He then posted 287 shots on the net, police officer Liao Xude, of the public security bureau in the provincial capital Haikou, said.

The incident recalled the scandal of sexually explicit photos of Hong Kong celebrities earlier this year. The images soon hit the headlines in both cyberspace and newspapers.

A security official surnamed Li at the university said the student "did it just for fun and had not expected such an impact."

Li said 25 female students were photographed.

Police received a report from a student about the incident on June 23 after she saw photos of herself and others on a Website.

Police located the man after finding out the IP address used for uploading the photos. He faces five to 10 days' detention over privacy infringement.

The university had offered a 20,000 yuan (US$2,915) reward to find the offender.

On January 27, photos featuring Hong Kong pop star Edison Chen began to appear on the Internet. They were reportedly copied from a faulty laptop believed to belong to the actor.

Chen made a public apology and announced he would quit the Hong Kong entertainment industry.