Star has paid dearly for pictures - and so have his former girlfriends

Singer-actor Edison Chen Koon-hei, who took snaps of intimate moments of his love life over five years, would never have imagined that one day they would become a hot discussion topic among the young, the old and even government officials.

Chen has since banished himself from the entertainment business in an attempt to quell the scandal. The other celebrities involved, including one half of the popular singing duo Twins, Gillian Chung Yan-tung, married actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi and former actress Bobo Chan Man-woon, have also paid dearly for the unwanted publicity.

Chung has arguably suffered the most. Her successful career with Twins partner Charlene Choi Cheuk-yin - built upon a 'good girl' image - was shattered after she was seen in explicit sex poses with Chen, and a widely criticised public apology also contributed to her present low profile.

Calling herself naive but without clarifying the authenticity of the photos - which her agency once claimed were false - the singer-actress, 27, became a target of public scorn. TVB received more than 2,000 complaints when she sang on a charity programme in February.

Some academics said the fact that so few people cared that the pictures had been stolen and that viewers of the photos were invading people's privacy demonstrated a twisted view of reality.