Edison Chen Sex Scandal

Beginning in late January 2008, racy photographs of the aforementioned actor and actresses were circulated on the internet, through sites such as forums. As of 12 February 2008, nine people were arrested in connection with the distribution of the photographs. The scandal has continuously made the front page of the local newspapers for over two weeks, and has made international news.

Despite enlisting the assistance of Interpol, the Hong Kong police have not been able to stem the spread of the photographs. Their crackdown has instead caused concern over violations of privacy and free speech. The manner in which actors, their management, and the police have handled the scandal, in turn, made those arrested into heroes and martyrs.

History
In November 2006, Chen allegedly purchased a pink PowerBook from eLite Multimedia, a computer shop in Hong Kong's Central district. 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 celebrities may have been accessed and copied by one or more of the shop's employees without consent. Chen's photographs were reportedly taken sometime between 2003 and 2005.

One close friend of Chen indicated that he liked to take photographs during intimate moments with his sexual partners, of which 14 were celebrities, and privately showed these to a select group of close friends.

Exposure
The first nude photo, of a man and a woman resembling Chen and Gillian Chung, was posted on the website Hong Kong Discuss Forum at approximately 8:30 pm on 27 January 2008. The genitals and nipples of the woman and head of the man could be clearly seen. Although the original post was deleted after a few hours, some visitors forwarded the photo to other major forums such as Uwants and HKGolden. Chung's management agency, Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), immediately denied that the photos were authentic and filed a police report.

At 3 p.m. the day following EEG's statement, a second explicit photograph of a couple resembling Chen and Bobo Chan engaged in fellatio appeared on the internet. An emergency meeting was held at EEG immediately that evening after which the company declared through its solicitors that it would pursue the publisher of the image for this "irresponsible" and "malicious act". Gillian Chung was reportedly very distraught, 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 photoshopped. The news became the headline of several major local Hong Kong newspapers, including Apple Daily, Oriental Daily News, The Sun, Headline Daily, and Metro News.

At 12:30 p.m. on 29 January, a third photograph, of a woman fondling her nipples while her legs were wide apart appeared on the internet. The photograph was of a much higher resolution than the previous shots. The photographs became the talk of the town, and journals noted the uncanny resemblance to Cecilia Cheung by comparing physical features and the distinctive tattoos of the starlet. Local discussion forums became saturated as a result. A low-resolution sequence (photos 4 to 7) of a couple, possibly Chen and Chung, with the female wearing a bikini at the start of the sequence appeared at 3 p.m.; a photograph, allegedly of Cecilia Cheung standing naked in a bathroom with her back facing the camera appeared at 6 p.m. Journals in Mainland China compared the backgrounds of the photographs to previously released videos filmed inside Chen's residence. The police, and photo experts who examined the photos involving the first three female celebrities, say the photos are unlikely to have been photoshopped.

On 6 February, a forum user named "Kira" who said he was not in Hong Kong leaked more photos in defiance of the police, and promised to release a 32-minute video of Chen and Chung the next day.

Edison's current girlfriend, 18 year old Vincy Yeung (楊永晴), is the niece of the Chairman of Emperor Entertainment Group, Albert Yeung. On 8 February, three pictures of her standing naked in a shower appeared on the internet. The police confirmed these three images were part of the set of 1,300 photographs. Having said there were only six victims, they had to explain the appearance of a seventh, and said that her photographs had been erroneously grouped with one of the other females.

On 14 February, after a lull of five days, two new sex photographs surfaced. One photographs featuring an unidentified head performing fellatio on Edison and another of woman resembling Rachel Ngan lying spread-eagled on a bed.