Democratic Party official quits over brothel visit
Democratic Party official quits over brothel visit
Sex scandal claims scalp of party's chief executive, photographed by a newspaper leaving one-woman brothel just months before district council elections
Fanny W. Y. Fung, Tanna Chong and Adrian Wan
Jul 14, 2011
scmp.com
The Democratic Party's chief executive resigned on Tuesday, hours after he was photographed by a newspaper leaving a one-woman brothel.
Chan Ka-wai claimed he had visited the brothel to "interview a sex worker" and to advise her on "ways to protect herself". But the party leadership immediately accepted his resignation and distanced itself from the scandal, describing it as a matter of his personal conduct.
The former Kowloon City District Council vice-chairman, 48, was caught by journalists from the Oriental Daily News on Tuesday evening while leaving a brothel in Champagne Court, Tsim Sha Tsui. He told the newspaper he had been interviewing a prostitute. The newspaper said he appeared nervous as he explained that he had previously volunteered for a sex workers' rights group in the 1990s.
In a video interview, posted on the newspaper's website, Chan conceded he had paid the woman, asked her to pose naked and make sexual gestures, and taught her how to protect herself when serving clients - but denied any physical contact.
"I have been there. I won't deny it. Basically I was there to do an interview. I had to pay for it," he said.
He tendered his resignation as a party member and chief executive to chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan on Tuesday night.
Before the party formally approved Chan's departure yesterday, Ho said: "This incident is regrettable. This is purely a matter of his personal conduct ... He is no longer our staff, and is quitting the party. We will let the public judge.
"Everyone with an aspiration in politics should ... avoid doing anything that could harm oneself, one's family and the organisation."
Chan was first elected as a member of the Kowloon City District Council in 1999, and became vice-chairman in 2004. He lost his seat to Dr Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, now a Kowloon West legislator. He is married with a young son. A Christian, he is pursuing postgraduate studies in theology at Chinese University.
In a text message to reporters yesterday morning, Chan wrote: "My behaviour has harmed the reputation and embarrassed the Democratic Party. Last night I tendered my resignation as chief executive to the party chairman. It has been approved by the chairman. I have also applied [to quit] the party."
He did not respond to further questions.
The Democratic Party suffered a major sex scandal before the 2004 Legislative Council election, when authorities in Guangdong detained Alex Ho Wai-to, a candidate in Kowloon East, accusing him of hiring a prostitute there and releasing photos of him half-naked.
Separately, a Legco committee has yet to release its report on an inquiry into claims Democrats lawmaker Kam Nai-wai fired an assistant after she rejected his advances.
Lawmaker Fred Li Wah-ming, who led Alex Ho's ticket in the 2004 poll, said that the nature of Chan's incident was less serious than Ho's.
"Chan is not exactly a politician ... he is an employee paid by a political party only," said Li. "He has paid for his mistake."
Dr Ray Yep Kin-man, of City University's politics department, believed the latest scandal would have little impact, because Chan was not a well-known figure. | |
