A Hong Kong hack has set a worrying precedent in online journalism by going way beyond the call of duty for an "investigative" report on the sex trade.

The article, posted on the Internet at HKCyber, shows a 16-minute clip of the journalist trotting through a sleazy red light area and picking up a prostitute. The two then make their way back to a room, where the butt-naked hack (never a pretty sight) is shown in his full technicolour glory engaging in a session of hide the sausage with the lady.

Purely in the interests of news reporting, of course.

The broadcast has created a bit of a brouhaha in Hong Kong - other journalists slammed it as unprofessional, while Hong Kong lawmakers were up in arms about minors being able to access the filth via the Net, according to Reuters.

"This was not professional news reporting. It was totally unnecessary for the journalist to engage in the act, let alone post it on the Web," said Mak Yin-Ting, Chairwoman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association.

But Skynet Ltd, a part owner of HKCyber, defended the editorial decision to broadcast the online shenanigans. "We have more than fulfilled our moral responsibility by giving warning twice, once when going into the site and a second time before the clip is played," said Shiu Yeuk-yuen, Skynet chairman.

Shiu added that it was down to parents to monitor what their kids saw on the Net, though he did say the company was thinking about letting only registered users view such content in future.

It was not revealed why the cybersex video clip only lasted for 16 minutes. ®

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