A Hong Kong taxi driver was excoriated by netizens after he allegedly photographed a breastfeeding passenger in his cab and shared the picture online.
The man, surnamed Chow, posted an uncensored snap of a woman breastfeeding a child to a Facebook group for Hong Kong taxi drivers at around 5am on Saturday with the caption, “Are you serious?”, Apple Daily reports.
A pixelated version of Chow’s post. Screenshot: Apple Daily
Many netizens berated Chow for his post, calling it a breach of privacy. “After looking at her breast, you had the nerve to photograph it and put it online? You have no class and no decency. Despicable,” one person said.
“What’s so special about breastfeeding that’s worth photographing? Babies have to eat just like you do, what’s so shocking that you felt the need to take a sneaky photo?” another wrote.
Many commenters slammed Chow for his unprofessionalism, with one netizen calling him the “shame of the industry”.
After pulling his original post and re-uploading a pixelated version of the photo, Chow changed his Facebook name and details around 13 hours later. According to his profile, which has now been deleted, Chow is a Tai O native who has driven vans and taxis for about 28 years.
Police are now looking into the case, and are urging anyone with relevant information to call the commercial and technology crime hotline at 2860 5012.
Lawmaker Helena Wong said that not only had the cabbie seriously infringed on the victim’s privacy, but his actions may have constituted sexual harassment. Wong added that despite a government campaign to encourage breastfeeding, there is a “massive shortage” of facilities for nursing mothers, and that a lack of public awareness meant many people in Hong Kong still unduly sexualise breasfeeding.
Speaking to Apple Daily, barrister Albert Luk said that Chow could be charged with accessing a computer with criminal or dishonest intent, a crime with a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, or outraging public decency, which carries a maximum punishment of seven years in jail.
Got a tip? Send it to us at hongkong@coconuts.co
Reader Interactions