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Celebrity snapper arrested over 'pornographic' photos
February 05, 2013
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Renowned Singaporean fashion and music photographer Leslie Kee was arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of obscenity for publishing and selling glossy coffee-table books containing graphic images of male genitalia.
The Metropolitan Police Department said Feb. 4 that two other people were also arrested in connection with the case. One of them was the 45-year-old director of a Tokyo art gallery hosting an exhibition of Kee's works.
Kee, 41, denied he had done anything wrong, saying, "The organizer told me: 'no problem.'"
The gallery director insisted police had jumped to conclusions about the images. "This is not pornography," the director said.
Police said two different books containing the offending images were on sale at the gallery and online, each priced at 6,000 yen ($64). Investigators suspect two men bought seven of the books at the gallery on Feb. 2.
Kee's international career has taken him far from his native Singapore. He has worked extensively in Japan and the United States, where his work has included photo shoots with athletes and "Born This Way" singer Lady Gaga and Yumi Matsutoya.
Ahead of the exhibition, Kee had described the books as "free from censorship" and "unexpurgated" in comments on his official Facebook page, police said.
"I spent a whole year shooting nudes specifically for this collection," they quoted him as saying.
Similar books published previously by Kee led to shocked readers reporting to police with e-mail messages labeling his work as filth and demanding a crackdown.
February 05, 2013
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Renowned Singaporean fashion and music photographer Leslie Kee was arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of obscenity for publishing and selling glossy coffee-table books containing graphic images of male genitalia.
The Metropolitan Police Department said Feb. 4 that two other people were also arrested in connection with the case. One of them was the 45-year-old director of a Tokyo art gallery hosting an exhibition of Kee's works.
Kee, 41, denied he had done anything wrong, saying, "The organizer told me: 'no problem.'"
The gallery director insisted police had jumped to conclusions about the images. "This is not pornography," the director said.
Police said two different books containing the offending images were on sale at the gallery and online, each priced at 6,000 yen ($64). Investigators suspect two men bought seven of the books at the gallery on Feb. 2.
Kee's international career has taken him far from his native Singapore. He has worked extensively in Japan and the United States, where his work has included photo shoots with athletes and "Born This Way" singer Lady Gaga and Yumi Matsutoya.
Ahead of the exhibition, Kee had described the books as "free from censorship" and "unexpurgated" in comments on his official Facebook page, police said.
"I spent a whole year shooting nudes specifically for this collection," they quoted him as saying.
Similar books published previously by Kee led to shocked readers reporting to police with e-mail messages labeling his work as filth and demanding a crackdown.