VANCOUVER, British Columbia —  The Chinese-Canadian film star in a racy scandal over various photos that showed him in bed with eight of China's best-known actresses and singers testified Monday against the person accused of accessing his private laptop, which held the images.

"I'm quite a private person. I enjoy my privacy. I need my privacy," said Edison Chen, star of a popular series of Hong Kong action films. "This was never meant for anyone else to see."

The scandal dominated Hong Kong headlines for weeks last year, and the Chinese government censured the country's top Internet search engine for allegedly helping spread the photos of the stars apparently performing sex acts or in sexually suggestive poses.

Chen, who was born in Vancouver but moved to China as a teenager, testified in a British Columbia courtroom for the trial of Ho Chun Sze, which is taking place in Hong Kong. Sze faces three counts of obtaining access to a computer with illegal intent.

Chen refused to return to Hong Kong for the case but he agreed to a deposition in Canada. Hong Kong Chief Magistrate Tong Man flew to Vancouver to hear the evidence.

Police say the images were illegally copied from the laptop of Chen, who left show business after apologizing for the scandal. Some of the pages hosting the photos at the time received more than 25 million hits, and the celebrity feeding frenzy crashed the web in Hong Kong.

Chen said when he reported the missing laptop to police, officers showed him two large books filled with the photos.

"Of course I had seen these pictures. I took these pictures. They were in my personal computer," Chen said.

He said he never intended to let anyone else see them.

Canadian Department of Justice lawyer Kerry Swift said the Hong Kong judiciary is allowed to take testimony under a mutual legal assistance treaty.

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