2006-10-08 02:11:50
HONG KONG, Oct. 10 (AP) -- An Indonesian maid has been arrested in Hong Kong for allegedly trying to photograph ailing veteran actress Lydia Sum at a hospital for her employer -- an editor at a local magazine -- police said Sunday.
The 24-year-old female maid, who was not identified, was arrested after being found loitering in the intensive care unit at Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital last Sunday, police spokeswoman Annisa Chan said.
Ming Pao Daily News reported Saturday that police found photography equipment attached to the maid's shoulder. It wasn't clear if she had already taken pictures.
Chan said the domestic helper will be charged with allegedly photographing a public hospital patient without obtaining his or her consent, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of three months' imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$257; €204) on conviction.
She said police are still investigating, and that the maid is due to appear in court Friday.
News and entertainment magazine Eastweek said in a statement the maid, who works for one of its editors, entered Sum's hospital room. Sum is reportedly suffering from liver cancer.
The magazine apologized for and condemned the incident, saying in the statement the newspaper's management wasn't aware of the maid's tactics.
"The magazine doesn't approve of anyone entering Fat Sister's hospital room for reporting purposes, even if it's to verify whether she is critically ill," the statement said, using Sum's nickname.
Ming Pao Daily News Sunday quoted Eastweek as saying "the editor linked to the incident," identified by Ming Pao as deputy editor in chief Wong Ching-ning, has been suspended pending the result of the police investigation.
Calls to Eastweek Sunday went unanswered.
The maid's arrest marks the second high-profile paparazzi-related controversy in recent months.
Easy Finder magazine, one of Eastweek's rivals, sparked a backlash in late August by running a cover photo showing singer Gillian Chung, a member of the Hong Kong female pop duo Twins, changing backstage at a concert in Malaysia's Genting Highlands.
Jackie Chan led a protest against the magazine, and Hong Kong's Obscene Articles Tribunal classified it "indecent," a ruling Easy Finder has appealed. Publications classified as indecent in Hong Kong need to be sealed in plastic wrapping and display a warning that the item can't be sold to people under 18 _ conditions Easy Finder didn't meet.
Hong Kongers are obsessed with celebrities in this small but vibrant hub for Chinese-language entertainment. The demand for news about celebrities and their inability to hide in densely populated Hong Kong has made for an often tense relationship between the stars and the entertainment press.
Hong Kong's Law Reform Commission has proposed the criminalization of surveillance conducted by private parties in March, but the government hasn't moved on the proposal.
Eastweek, under different ownership, was shut down amid the backlash after publishing on its cover a photo of a visibly distressed, seminude female star, widely reported to be Carina Lau, in October 2002.
