Edison Chen Sex Scandal Update
The Edison Chen photo scandal was a scandal in early 2008 that received high profile media attention in Hong Kong (later in Asia), and shook the local entertainment industry as well as the general public.
The first photograph, depicting Chen and a female presumed to be Gillian Chung, was posted on the Web site Hong Kong Discuss Forum at approximately 8:30 p.m. on 27 January 2008. 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.
At 3 PM the day, a second explicit photograph of Chen with another female presumed to be Bobo Chan appeared on the Internet.
At 12:30 PM on 29 January, a higher resolution photograph appeared on the Internet. Journals noted the uncanny resemblance to Cecilia Cheung, noting her physical features and her distinctive tattoo set. A low-resolution sequence (photos 4 to 7) of Chen with a female resembling Chung wearing a bikini at the start of the sequence appeared at 3 PM; a photograph of Cecilia Cheung standing in a bathroom with her back facing the camera appeared at 6 PM.
On 4 February 2008, Chen released a 90-second video clip in English to the press in which he apologized to those who may have been affected by the posting of photographs. He did not comment on the authenticity of the photos.
On 6 February, a forum user leaked hundreds more photographs in defiance of the police. The uploader, dubbed by the public as "Kira" with reference to the protagonist in the manga "Death Note", stated he was not in Hong Kong, and promised to release a 32-minute video the next day.
On 8 February, three pictures of a girl/young woman showering appeared on the Internet. The subject was rapidly identified as 18 year old Vincy Yeung, Edison's girlfriend and niece of Albert Yeung (Chairman of EEG). The police confirmed these three images were part of the batch of 1,300 photographs known to them. Having said there were only six victims, the police explained the appearance of a seventh, saying that her photographs had been erroneously grouped with one of the other females.
As of 12 February 2008, ten people were arrested in connection with the distribution of the photographs.
On 14 February, two new photographs surfaced. One photograph featured an unidentified woman fellating Edison, and another showed Rachel Ngan lying on a bed.
On 21 February, Chen admitted being the author of most of the photographs. However, he also stated that the private photographs had been stolen and published illegally without his consent. Chen vowed to take legal action to stop further proliferation of the photographs in order to protect the victims of the scandal,. He publicly apologized, and also announced that he would "step away indefinitely" from the Hong Kong entertainment industry.
Edison also held a press conference during which he asked for forgiveness and announced his retirement from the Hong Kong entertainment industry. He sincerely regretted harm he caused to the women involved and their and his families.