( CNN ) -- He has been at the center of Asia 's biggest sex scandal , but now actor Edison Chen has broken his silence on the public episode that has ended careers and caused him to face at least one reported death threat . Internet sex photos of Edison Chen and starlets caused a huge media storm and fall from grace for many . Talking exclusively to CNN on his return to Hong Kong , where he had been forging a career in the movies , Chen reveals his side of the scandal that broke in early last year when hundreds of sexually explicit photos of Chen with other celebrities turned up on the Internet . `` There 's been a lot of talk through the past year and a half about this or that and a lot of rumors , a lot of hearsay , and I feel , you know , I 've kept quiet just to kind of respect everyone and respect the law , '' Chen told CNN . A Hong Kong computer technician was sentenced to more than eight-and-a-half months in jail for dishonestly obtaining access to the intimate photos when Chen sent his computer in for repairs . But it is still unclear exactly how the images made their way to the web . Watch the full exclusive TV interview with Edison Chen online » . The photographs caused shock in Hong Kong and across Asia , with around 1,300 salacious images fueling front page news for tabloids for weeks . There was also a huge public backlash against the 28-year-old who has been one of the rising young stars of Asia cinema . After the scandal broke , Chen , who admitted taking the photos , announced his retirement from Hong Kong 's entertainment business and fled to his native Canada . Added to the media attention , Chen says he faced death threats . A bullet was sent to a TV station in Hong Kong earlier this year warning the entertainer to stay out of the limelight . While Chen issued his own apology for any hurt or embarrassment caused soon after the photos surfaced , he maintains he suffered as well . `` I believed I was a victim . I believed that I was hurt by this a lot . I believed that ... I knew that I had nothing to do with the spreading of these photos , '' he told CNN in the exclusive interview . `` I ca n't say I did n't do anything wrong . I 've admitted that I was wrong , and I would n't say sorry if I was n't wrong . But I also believe that at the same time that I was n't the perpetrator , and I had suffered a lot from this as well . '' Chen has suffered a spectacular fall from grace and some of the starlets in the photos have endured public disgrace in this culturally conservative region . For some , careers have been left in ruins . Chen says he has not spoken to any of the women identified in the photos since the scandal broke . `` Initially it was because I could n't find them . Secondly , it was because I did n't really know how to approach and really what to say to be honest with you , '' Chen told CNN . Cecilia Cheung was one of the actresses identified in the photos and in a recent interview , she had strong criticism for Chen . `` I was n't allowed to talk to her in the initial because of the police request and they were investigating me ... I had so much things on my mind , '' said Chen . `` I 'm not trying to say that that justifies any wrongdoing that she thinks I 've done to her . But I hope that she can understand , and I hope that she can forgive me either today or one day , and she 'll understand that I had my difficulties , and I really , really never wished this to happen upon anyone , and I still respect her . '' Watch the full exclusive TV interview with Edison Chen online . » Chen talks at length to CNN 's Anjali Rao about the women involved in the photographs , why he took the images , the effect the scandal had on his health , his family and others .
Chen gives exclusive interview with CNN on the sex scandal that rocked China . Chen faced death threats ; pictures of some girls in explicit photos taken . Returns to Hong Kong to tell his side of events and its aftermath . Watch even more from the interview in exclusive online only footage .