HONG Kong singer and actor Edison Chen said today that he will leave the Hong Kong entertainment industry after admitting he took the raunchy celebrity pictures that showed him posing in bed with several other female entertainment stars.
The 27-year-old actor made his first public appearance this afternoon after returning to Hong Kong from the United States. He has been accused of avoiding the public and the media due to the nude picture scandal that broke in late January.
"I've decided to step away from the Hong Kong entertainment industry,"
Chen, who was wearing a black suit, told more than 300 reporters at a news conference at Hong Kong Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre at 3pm today.
He said in a brief statement in English that he would fulfill existing commitments before stepping down "indefinitely."
The Canada-born Chinese admitted he snapped most of the more than 800 nude pictures that have circulated on the Internet. The nude photos show him with dozens of female celebrities, including singer Gillian Chung and actress Cecilia Cheung.
The scandal has created a media frenzy and heated discussions on BBS communities both in Hong Kong and on the mainland since the scandal broke.
Some Internet users shared the raunchy pictures by e-mail or posting them on other Websites.
Hong Kong police said last week some 1,300 private shots of Chen in bed with at least half a dozen female celebrities had been copied by employees of a computer repair shop from a faulty laptop believed to belong to Chen.
""I'm sorry to those ladies and their families," Chen said. "And most of all, I feel sorry for Hong Kong people.
These photos were very private and have not been shown to people and were never intended to be shown to anyone,"
Chen said in a calm voice amid a flood of camera flashes from the hundreds of reporters gathered.
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