A female Hong Kong blogger has exposed a secret Telegram group with 10,000 members set up to share surreptitiously taken upskirt photos of women.
Called “Street Shooting Valley @callginhk”, the group’s members also swapped tips on how to take illicit photos of unknowing women without being detected as well as advice about where to buy glasses with hidden cameras.
It was exposed by blogger Emilia Wong, who says she has faced death and rape threats since revealing the group’s existence earlier this week.
Wong posted a series of screengrabs of exchanges within the group to her Facebook page — including one that showed members had shared a picture of a topless a minor. The pics were removed from Facebook after being reported, though Wong later reposted them on her personal blog.
“I exposed the group for breaking the law and taking upskirt photos, and infringing upon the privacy and physical autonomy of others,” she wrote on her Facebook page this morning.
Speaking to Coconuts HK via message, Wong said in the wake of her revelations, she’d learned from supporters that the group’s administrators had encouraged members to leave, to avoid risk from the media exposure. Its membership had been halved to 5,000 before it was finally deleted.
But she says it’s far from the only such group.
“I knew about these groups 6 months ago, not that one specifically, but I knew there are groups that do these kinds of things,” she told Coconuts.
“I knew it because people discuss me in those groups and other members told me about it. I wasn’t in these groups myself. For that specific group, a girlfriend of mine’s was in it.”
Discussing the rape and death threats she had received in recent days, she said the vicious responses had only emboldened her efforts to expose these types of online communities.
“The comments intimidated part of me, but the bigger part of me felt empowered, motivated and more courageous, because they make me reassure myself that they are in the wrong, and also encouraged me to treat this matter more seriously and expose them even more, even take further actions to tackle these groups.”
Perverts taking upskirt photos is, unfortunately, something that appears to happen regularly in Hong Kong.
Regularly enough, at least, for a political party to recently release a list warning women about the most risky places for the sleazy practice.
Chong Yiu-kwong, a senior lecturer at the Education University of Hong Kong, told Stand News that under section 21 of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance, it is a crime if anyone publishes or possesses obscene articles for publication.
Those found guilty under the ordinance are liable to a HK$1 million (US$127,000) fine, and three years in jail.
Chong also cited concerns that the Telegram group in question could have underage members, adding that article 22 of the same law states that publishing indecent articles to young people also constitutes a crime.
Those found guilty of publishing indecent material to juveniles are liable to a HK$400,000 (US$51,000) fine and 12 months in jail on the first conviction, and a HK$800,000 (US$102,000) fine and 12 months in jail for subsequent convictions.
Chong said that any crime is usually accompanied by the additional offense of “incitement” and “knowing and assisting.” He told the website that if anyone recommends a specific camera or tricks to take illicit photographs, then that involves “knowing and assisting.”
yobbo says
This is the favorite hobby of some of the local members of the Hong Kong Constabulary …that and stealing expensive watches ..