Fine for Wharf over cruel scene

WHARF Cable has been fined $10,000 by the Broadcasting Authority for screening a children's drama that showed a boy throwing a cat off a balcony.

The scene from the programme Lonely Boy, which was broadcast on the Cable Children Channel in late May, was described yesterday as too cruel, unnecessary and inhumane by an authority spokesman.

A repeat of the scene in slow motion at the end of the 30-minute programme was also described as gratuitous and unnecessary.

'The scenes could frighten, unnerve and cause pain to children,' the spokesman added.

But the senior public relations manager for Wharf Cable, Laurie Ho Ywai-lam, said the network would launch an appeal against the fine to the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority.

'While we cannot deny that the death of the cat at the end of the programme might have upset viewers, there was equal emphasis on the sorrow and remorse felt by the boy,' she said.

'The need for better communication between children and parents was also stressed and we feel that these messages were quite clearly conveyed in the programme.' Ms Ho said that the camera had focused on the sorrow on the child's face after he threw the cat off the balcony.