HK buyer owns “unluckiest” license plate

A Hong Kong woman splashed out 130,000 US dollars for a car licence plate carrying “4444″, despite the number’s traditional links to death in Chinese culture, a report said Monday.

The bidder paid one million Hong Kong dollars in a government auction of 270 unusual licence plates on Sunday, the Chinese-language Apple Daily said.

The number four is often avoided by Chinese people because its pronunciation is similar to the word for “dead”.

Some skyscrapers do not include floors that end with the number, such as 14th or fourth, as they are less likely to be rented. (story)

South Korea big winners at Asian Film Awards

South Korea dominated the Asian Film Awards for the second year running, with “Secret Sunshine”, a tragic movie about death and faith, taking home three top prizes including best picture.

“Secret Sunshine” — the story of a widow who moves to her dead husband’s hometown with her son, and then turns to evangelical Christianity when her child is abducted and murdered — also won for best director and actress.

South Korean actress Jeon Do-Yeon, who won the top acting prize at last year’s Cannes film festival for her performance as the suffering woman, again took home top honours in Hong Kong late Monday.

“This is beyond my expectations,” she said.

“Secret Sunshine” director Lee Chang-dong bested Taiwan’s Ang Lee, whose erotic World War II spy thriller “Lust, Caution” went home with just one award — a best actor trophy for Hong Kong veteran Tony Leung Chiu-wai. (story)

Serial killer hunting prostitutes in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police are investigating the killings of four sex workers in the past few days, suggesting a serial killer may be on the loose in the densely packed city.

Three victims, all in their 30s, were found in their ransacked apartments in two districts in the northern New Territories. A fourth was found on Hong Kong island on Monday.

The first two women had been robbed and strangled, one with a hose, while the third was certified dead with no apparent injuries early on Monday.

“We are adopting a very open-minded approach, we will rigorously pursue all lines of inquiries,” said Steve Li, a police superintendent, when asked if a serial killer may have been responsible.

“We can’t rule out the possibility that either one or more persons carried out these crimes.” (story)

Singapore ranked at the bottom of corruption survey, that’s good.

The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Perc) expects corruption to emerge as a hot-button issue in Asia this year as slowing growth, rising food prices and political campaigns feed a groundswell against graft.

But Singapore is unlikely to be tainted as expatriates surveyed by the Hong Kong-based group once again rank it the least corrupt economy in the region.

The annual survey also rated Hong Kong and Japan highly among 13 Asian economies.

The Philippines was deemed the most corrupt for the second consecutive year.

Thailand, China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam fared poorly too.

The 1,400 expatriates surveyed in January and February this year were asked to grade the extent that corruption detracts from the attractiveness of the business environment they work in.

Singapore scored with its ‘no-nonsense approach to corruption’, the report said. (story)

Singapore MP adds his 2 cents on Edison Chen scandal

MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, Baey Yam Keng, is one of the latest prominent figures to comment about the sex photo scandal involving Hong Kong’s Edison Cheng.

On the P65 Blog, where post-1965 MPs post their views on issues, Mr Baey noted that Edison himself had come from a broken home.

He wrote: “I read from Zaobao that the parents were separated/divorced when he was young, his sister had been involved with drugs and Edison himself grew up smoking, drinking and fighting.”

Edison’s estranged parents have since apologized following the celebrity’s public show of remorse. They have blamed themselves for not bringing up their son well. (story)

Edison “quits” HK entertainment industry

HK singer and actor Edison Chen said on Thursday that he would step away from the Hong Kong entertainment industry, in his first public appearance since a nude picture scandal broke in January.’I've decided to step away from the Hong Kong entertainment industry,’ Chen told reporters, while apologising to Hong Kong for the scandal which has drawn blanket media coverage over several weeks.

He said in a brief statement he would fulfil existing commitments before stepping down ‘indefinitely’.

Beijing police vow action on HK nude photos
Meanwhile in Beijing, Chinese police have vowed to detain anyone caught distributing nude photos of several Hong Kong pop stars that were recently posted on the Internet, state media reported on Thursday.

Hong Kong police said some 1,300 private shots of the celebrities had been stolen by the staff of a computer repair shop from a faulty laptop believed to belong to Canadian-born singer and actor Edison Chen.

The scandal has caused a media frenzy and feverish downloading and sharing of the photos. Hong Kong police have made several arrests and the investigation is ongoing. (story)

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HK actress Lydia Sum (Fei-Fei) dead at 60

Hong Kong comedian and actress Lydia Sum has died, according to Hong Kong media reports.
Shanghai-born Sum was 60.

The star, who was known for her size, had been suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. She was admitted into hospital in August last year for an operation.

Regularly sporting her signature dark rimmed glasses, she was affectionately known to peers and fans as Fei-fei.

She made her film debut in 1960, joining Shaw Brothers as a child actress. Her stardom began with the widely televised TVB variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight, first singing with the Four Golden Flowers in the 1970s. (story)

Triads offering HK $500,000 reward for Edison Chen’s hand

Word has it that an underworld figure has offered a HK$500,000 ($91,000) reward to hack off one of his hands, reported Apple Daily Hong Kong.Chen has apparently been targeted by the triads after hundreds of obscene photos of him and several female celebrities like Bobo Chan and GillianChung were stolen from his laptop computer and posted on the Internet.

On Sunday, more photos of Chen and Chan were circulated online.

Apple Daily HK, quoting a police source, reported that someone is planning to harm Chen when he returns.

Chen is now lying low in Boston, on the advice of his management company, Media Asia. (story)

Edison quits
Baidu.com blamed …
Maggie Q linked …
Singapore stars dragged …

Singapore stars latest to be dragged in Edison Chen sex photo scandal

The ongoing racy photo scandal (Edison Chen) that rocked Hong Kong has sent its sleazy ripples to Singapore.Local stars Fann Wong and Stefanie Sun are the latest celebrities to have their names dragged in the mud, after digitally-manipulated ‘nude pictures’ of them were found uploaded onto awell-linked website.

The pictures are discernibly fake, but they are the only two Singaporean stars included in a long alphabetical list featuring some 140 celebrity names.

Speaking to The New Paper last night, Fann, 37, said she wasn’t shocked by the prank, as it isn’t the first time something like this has happened to her.

‘I’m not angry but feel wronged. I’m quite worried that overseas netizens who don’t know my background will have the wrong impression of me,’ she said.

Stefanie’s manager, Ms Marcia Tan, is outraged by the pictures. (story)

Edison Chen sex photos (NSFW) (.rar file)

Edison quits
Maggie Q linked to Edison Chen sex scandal
Triads offering reward …
Baidu.com blamed …

China releases reporter

China has freed Mr Ching Cheong, The Straits Times’ Hong Kong-based correspondent who was jailed for espionage activities in 2006, Chinese government officials said on Tuesday.Mr Ching, 58, who was reportedly in poor health and whose family had pushed for an early release on medical grounds, was freed on Monday, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday and was expected back in Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon.

Officials in China notified Hong Kong authorities on Tuesday morning that Mr Ching had been released on parole, said a government spokesman who declined to be named, citing internal policy. (story)