A Hong Kong magazine editor was given a suspended jail term for publishing a naked photograph of actress Carina Lau (劉嘉玲) that was taken when she was abducted by gangsters, it was reported yesterday.
At a hearing on Wednesday, former chief editor of Eastweek magazine Mong Hong-ming (蒙漢明) received a six-month sentence, suspended for two years, for publishing obscene material, the Hong Kong Standard reported.
The sentence means Mong will not go to jail unless he re-offends within the next two years.
The picture of Lau, published in Eastweek magazine in 2002, was taken in 1990 when the actress was kidnapped by gangsters, stripped and forced to pose for photographs.
Publication of the topless photo of a blindfolded and distressed Lau on the magazine’s cover, owned at the time by businessman Albert Yeung (楊受成), caused a huge public outcry.
Actors, including action star Jackie Chan (成龍), staged public protests and the magazine was forced to halt publication for a year.
In August, the magazine’s current owner — the New Media Group, admitted to distributing obscene articles and was fined HK$20,000 (US$2,560).
At the hearing, Eastern Court magistrate Gary Tallentire said he had taken into account the fact that Mong had a clear record and was unlikely to repeat the offense.
Actress Lau, now 43, later said the picture was taken against her will when she was bundled into a car and blindfolded by the gangsters while she was a young starlet.
In a recent interview, Lau said the gangsters targeted her because she refused a film role offered to her by their boss.
Hong Kong’s film industry is notorious for its links with the city’s gangs.
Lau has starred in dozens of box office hits in Hong Kong, including the Infernal Affairs series of films.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was