Although the original post was deleted after a few hours, some visitors forwarded the image to other major forums in Hong Kong such as Uwants and HKGolden. The first photograph, depicting Chen and Gillian Chung, was posted on the Hong Kong Discuss Forum at approximately 8:30 p.m. 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. According to Chen, the image files were deleted before the computer was taken in for repairs.Ĭhen's photographs were reportedly made some time between 20. According to the police, Chen's "Cotton-candy Mac" computer was sent in for repairs, and an estimated 1,300 intimate photographs of Chen and numerous female celebrities may have been accessed and secretly copied by one or more of the shop's employees. It may have come from eLite Multimedia, a computer shop in Hong Kong's Central district. 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.Įlite Multimedia, the shop at the centre of the allegationsIn November 2006, Chen purchased a pink PowerBook personal computer, a photograph of which he published on his blog. The manner in which actors, their management, and the police handled the situation, in turn, made those arrested into heroes for some Internet users.Ĭhen 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. The police crackdown raised questions over violations of the privacy and free speech rights of Internet users. 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. Ten people were arrested in connection with the distribution of the photographs. The Hong Kong police enlisted the assistance of Interpol to stem the spread of the photographs. 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 Chinese New Year. The scandal shook the Hong Kong entertainment industry in early 2008 and received high profile media attention locally and around the world. The Edison Chen photo scandal involved the illegal distribution over the Internet of intimate and private photographs of Hong Kong actor Edison Chen with various women, including actresses Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan, Rachel Ngan and Cecilia Cheung.
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