The Hong Kong government Wednesday said that it welcomes the decision of the Obscene Articles Tribunal (OAT) which confirmed Wednesday an article published in the Easyfinder magazine on Aug. 23, 2006, as Class II (i.e. indecent) under the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance.

The article and the related photos featured a popular singer while she was changing clothes. The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA) has received 2,875 public complaints against the article.

The OAT classified the article as Class II on an interim basis on Aug. 25. At the request of the publisher of the article, a full hearing was held on Sept. 19, and the result of the full hearing was announced on Wednesday.

"TELA will take appropriate prosecution action under section 24 of the ordinance. Easyfinder magazine, upon conviction, faces a maximum penalty of an 800,000 HK dollars (about 102,827.7 US dollars) and imprisonment for 12 months for publishing an indecent article," a spokesman for TELA said.

Source: Xinhua