Edison Chen testifies

Source: Globe and Mail
Source: Toronto Star

VANCOUVER – Asian pop star Edison Chen, who fled Hong Kong in disgrace a year ago after nude photos of himself with other celebrities were posted on the Internet, is scheduled to appear in an unusual court hearing today in Vancouver.

After months of silence, Chen, a singer and actor who grew up in Vancouver and is one of Asia's most recognized celebrities, is to testify before a Hong Kong judge and lawyers over the next five days. A Canadian judge and Hong Kong's chief magistrate will be co-commissioners at the hearing as Hong Kong police question Chen.

The hearing is taking place in Vancouver because Chen, 28, refused to return to Hong Kong to give evidence at the trial of computer technician Sze Ho-Chun, who is facing charges of distributing via the Internet pictures of the actor having sex with female celebrities.

"This is part of the judicial proceedings. Since the proceedings are in progress, no further details can be disclosed," an official with the Hong Kong police said in an email to the Toronto Star.

Chen's fame skyrocketed after the photos appeared and Google said last December his name was the most searched in Asia.

Other polls in Asia put him behind only U.S. President Barack Obama as the news person of the year and more newsworthy than the Beijing Olympics, the devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province and the tainted milk scandal.

Chen's trouble began after he took his broken laptop in for repairs in Hong Kong.

Shortly afterwards, explicit photos of him with different women, some identifiable as famous actresses, singers and models, began appearing online.

Strange case. Not sure what they're trying to determine here in Canada. Edison should just go back to Hong Kong in April and testify against Sze. I hope the computer repairman gets convicted. What an evil thing to do just for some notoriety. I hope he gets famous in jail!

S Korea parents fined over rape

source: BBC

A South Korean court has fined the parents of a teenage rapist more than $60,000 (£40,000) for failing to supervise their son.

The 18-year-old, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, raped a local seven-year-old girl in 2006.

The court said the boy had grown up watching pornography and had imitated a film he had seen, during the attack.

It said his parents could have prevented the crime with appropriate education, but neglected their duty.

The teenager is serving a 10-year sentence for the rape, but a court in Seoul ruled that his parents were also liable for his crime.

I don't know if I agree with this or not. The 18-year old already got 10 years in prison and was sentenced as an adult. The parents probably already suffered with both this guilty verdict and spent money in the criminal trial to help their son. Why is the victim's family so greedy over this incident? The accused is already in jail, getting more money out of it doesn't change the fact the girl was raped.

And what responsibility does the parents really have? I'd like to hear from parents here. Do you watch your child 24/7 when they're 18? If you son did something illegal, do you feel you are responsible for it too and must pay a fine?

Sued For Loss of Virginity

And you thought Americans had weird lawsuits!

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Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian woman has sued her husband for 3 million ringgit (882,000 dollars) for the loss of her virginity after she claimed that he failed to fulfil his promises of a good marriage, a news report said Friday. The 30-year-old teacher from the eastern state of Sarawak also sought for the court to declare her marriage null and void.

The woman claimed that her husband had persuaded her to have sex with him several months after they first met in 2006, promising to marry her, the New Straits Times daily said.

The duo were married several months later, but the woman's in-laws refused to acknowledge the union.

In the suit filed in the state High Court, the woman claimed she was duped into her first sexual experience with the promises of a happy marriage, but claimed instead that her husband and in-laws caused her "humiliation and mental torture."

The woman's suit is the first of its kind in a marriage, said her lawyer Ernest Chua.