THE Broadcasting Authority has fined TVB for televising a drama with ''vulgar'' references to lesbianism.
The authority announced yesterday that TVB had been fined $25,000 for a dialogue about sex during the 10-part locally made thriller about glamorous female models, titled Glittering Moments.
The series starred a number of Miss Hong Kong contestants including Teresa Mak Ka-kei, who made the headlines in June when her father placed an injunction on Eastweek magazine for publishing nude photographs taken of Ms Mak when she was 15.
A Broadcasting Authority spokesman said members felt that the dialogue, which appeared on TVB Jade in January, was ''too explicit, vulgar and of poor taste'', making it unsuitable for broadcast during the family viewing hours of 4 pm to 8.30 pm.
A TVB spokesman said complaints had been received about a short piece of dialogue in which one of the characters, a model, asks another whether she had ever felt she might be a lesbian.
The Broadcasting Authority also announced yesterday that it had imposed sanctions on TVB and ATV for showing stunts that could be harmful to children if imitated.