Chinese stars caught up in web porn row

A group of Hong Kong's best known actors and pop stars, including Edison Chen, who stars in the Infernal Affairs movies, the actress Cecilia Cheung and the Twins singer Gillian Chung (pictured), have been caught up in an internet porn saga that has led to several arrests and a row over free speech.

It began a fortnight ago when lurid photos and videos began to appear on the internet of Edison Chen in separate scenes with at least six women, including Cheung and Chung. The images appear to have been illegally copied from Chen's customised pink Macbook laptop when it went in for servicing.

The Vancouver-born actor and rap singer has apologised to his fans and called upon anyone in possession of the images not to pass them on. "I urge you to please destroy them immediately. Let's help the wounded heal their wounds. I urge you to help the victims and not make it any worse."

Instead, the photos have created an online frenzy. Internet servers have crashed as an unknown culprit has continued to upload fresh pictures every day. Bloggers are having a field day, especially over Gillian Chung who they accuse of of hypocrisy: she recently made speeches against pre-marital sex while, it now transpires, apparently having an affair with Chen. "I admit that I was naive and very silly, but I've grown up now," Chung told a press conference.

Hong Kong police have arrested nine suspects and warned that people may be prosecuted for sharing the images. This prompted a march on Sunday by several hundred free speech activists, who believe the police are taking an unnecessarily harsh line because there are celebrities involved. "On the internet there are a lot of nude pictures and sexy photos, but the police don't bring charges," said one of the demonstrators, Oiwan Lam, who edits inmediahk.net, a citizen-reporter website.

In the latest twist, the wide interest in the scandal has apparently tempted online criminals to use the promise of 'a home sex movie' of Chen and Cheung to spread so-called 'malware'. Users are told that they will need to download a special plug-in to view the video - which does not, of course, exist. Instead of a plug-in, users receive a version of the Zlob 'trojan', which then installs malware on the user's computer.