Computer misuse has been blamed for a pornographic video that played on an LED screen at a busy shopping mall in east China, local police said.
The public security bureau of Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, said the video was shown for about 9 minutes at the downtown Wandi Plaza. Video recordings taken at the scene went viral on social media.
Police said a shopping mall worker watched the pornographic video on the computer used for playing advertisements on the LED screen, which led to its accidental showing in the plaza.
Police have asked locals and Internet users not to spread video of the incident, which risks breaking laws banning the circulation of obscene content. Local authorities on Wednesday launched a campaign to inspect public screens and cleanse the Internet.
Investigation of the case is ongoing.
When contacted, the worker said, when he starting watching the banned porn film, he did not realise his computer was connected to a giant screen.
When he began playing “The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks”, hundreds of local residents stopped to watch as well, news agencies reported.
The film is based on a classic Chinese erotic novel, “The Plum in the Golden Vase”, set in the Northern Song dynasty in the early 12th century and centred on Ximen Qing, a corrupt social climber and womaniser who has six wives and concubines among his 19 sexual partners.
The story follows the women’s domestic sexual struggles as they seek prestige and influence.
Although identified as pornographic and officially banned for centuries, the work – by an unknown author – has been read by many educated Chinese and was first translated into English in 1939.
PNN