Why I ruled nude obscene

THE retired head of the controversial Obscene Articles Tribunal, Gregory Chan Kok-cheong, vehemently defended his indecency ruling on a nude bronze sculpture yesterday.

Speaking for the first time since the public furore over New Man, a life-size nude statue by the late British artist Dame Elisabeth Frink, Mr Chan also said he had never wondered for a moment whether he had made a mistake.

The 65-year-old, who retired this week as the tribunal's presiding magistrate, was also adamant that age had not blurred his judgment on what modern Hong Kong considers obscene.

He said the tribunal decided that a 'partially erect' penis was not 'the kind of thing that should be seen by juveniles'.

Mr Chan said when the sculpture was displayed in a commercial building in Central, there was no name plate introducing the sculpture to visitors as Frink's work of art.

He added that children had been seen playing with the genitals.