A computer technician convicted of leaking nude photos of disgraced pop idol Edison Chen with some female celebrities has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half months in prison.

The sex photo case was the biggest scandal to hit Hong Kong’s entertainment scene last year.

24-year old Sze Ho-chun, a former employee of computer shop Elite Multimedia had been found guilty earlier of stealing and distributing more than 1,300 sexually explicit photos of actor Edison Chen with a string of female celebrities.

The prosecution proved that Sze had saved the images from Chen’s laptop and passed them on to one of his customers.

Outside the court, Sze’s mother said that she was disappointed with the sentence and was likely to appeal the conviction.

Sze was not granted bail pending an appeal.

In sentencing, Chief Magistrate Tong Man said Sze’s actions were a serious of breach of privacy, as the picture he uploaded were of a private nature. Also broken was the high level of trust between employer and employee where he used his position to steal the photos.

In mitigation, Sze’s defence counsel said that his client had downloaded the photos in ignorance of the law and only had the intention of sharing them between friends.

Hong Kong’s Commercial Crime Bureau hopes that the heavy sentence will send a strong message to the public.

Kenny Wong, Chief Inspector, Commercial Crime Bureau, said: "Accessing the computer with dishonest intent is a very serious offence. Hong Kong police is determined and capable to combat technology crimes. I want to take this opportunity to urge the general public to be conscious of the significance of their actions on their computer and internet usage and to follow the law."

The photos taken by Edison Chen showed him in compromising positions with celebrities including Cantopop star Gillian Chung, actress Cecilia Cheung and singer Bobo Chan.

Both Cecilia Cheung and Gillian Chung have gone public in recent months criticising their former lover.

Chen’s own showbiz is on-hold because of the scandal.

Hong Kong technician jailed over celebrity sex pics

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