The bright exposé of Hong Kong's Edison Chen

The buzz from the region has been on Edison Chen's gift to fans around the world--a whopping collection of pictures and videos that would otherwise have never seen the light of day. Despite initial attempts to claim otherwise, it seems this is the real mccoy (the key word being "seems" because no one has admitted to this thus far) and not the work of some Photoshop protagonist.

In a recently released video, a "hurt, pained and perplexed" Chen apologized for this "strange strange ordeal". He also asked for people to destroy copies of the pictures.

However, the H.K. police had slightly different ideas--it seems that whilst the original offenders were arrested and awaiting prosecution, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vincent Wong Fook-chuen said sharing of the pictures by e-mail would not be an offence. People who had only transferred the obscene picture files to friends had not violated the law, but those who transferred them to the public--for example, via the Web for downloading--were breaking the law.

Wong said there were three clauses relating to the possession of obscene material that constitute a violation of the law, namely: publishing obscene material; possession for publishing; and inserting obscene material for publishing.

This puts into light the difficulty construing a "public" element offence effected through the Internet. For instance, would an e-mail sent out to millions of people be less public than posting the pictures on an obscure Web site with a single digit hit-rate? What if an e-mail is sent to a friend who opens in a public place like an Internet café or while his laptop is hooked up to a LCD projector?

• Talkback (2)
• Print
• E-mail
• Share
• Alerts

Slashdot

Digg this

close this

Talkback 2 comments

• A shield for Web site owners?
• What should be in Singapore's localized Creative Commons?
• The trouble with spam laws
• Kidneys for sale: A case of self-defense?
• David takes on Goliath, in realm of copyright

• The bright exposé of Hong Kong's Edison Chen
• The trouble with spam laws
• A shield for Web site owners?
• World of Internet patents lands on Singapore's shores
• David takes on Goliath, in realm of copyright

2008

• Google Chrome: yet another re-inventing the wheel?
• ZDNet Asia Top Tech 50 to recognize Asia's potential
• A taste of Eraserheads heaven
• Mobile number portability arrives in Malaysia
• Should service be bought standard or custom?

Bryan Tan

Called to the Singapore and English Bars, Bryan Tan has practised in two of Singapore’s largest law firms and an international law firm. Bryan led many industry firsts including the first mass e-mail defamation case in the world, Singapore’s first publicised telecoms competition dispute, a pan-Asian co-branded travel portal, the first privately-funded cable landing project in Singapore and the world's first registrar-level domain name dispute. His areas of practice include information technology, telecommunications, biotechnology and bioinformatics, Chinese intellectual property, entertainment law and corporate work. He is also an author of Halsbury's Laws of Malaysia: E-Commerce. He also co-wrote the Singapore chapter of 'Digital Evidence' with Prof. Daniel Seng and is writing Halsbury's Laws of Singapore: E-Commerce.