MDA says sex and bondage footage in reality TV show breached guidelines
By Lee Sze Yong
STARHUB Cable Vision (SCV) has been fined $10,000 for airing what the Media Development Authority (MDA) has said to be 'footage of lesbian sex and bondage'.
In a statement uploaded yesterday on its website at
www.mda.gov.sg, MDA said the cable TV broadcaster had breached the Subscription TV Programme Code by airing scenes of women having sex in an American reality TV show called Cheaters.
The show is still airing on Zone Reality Channel (Channel 83). The channel is produced by British company Zone Media.
The show exposes ordinary people who, their partners suspect, are having affairs.
MDA says SCV has breached the 'guidelines which disallow the promotion, justification and glamorisation of lesbian lifestyles and their explicit depictions'.
In the episode aired between May 22 and 26, a woman was seen having sex with another woman. There was also a bondage session involving three women.
Although the scenes were pixelated, MDA found that it was obvious to viewers that the women were naked and engaging in unnatural sex acts.
It also considered the fact that the channel is in SCV's Family Plus Tier, which is aimed at a general audience.
The Programme Advisory Committee for English TV and Radio Programmes was consulted and it agreed with MDA.
Although SCV had paid the fine, StarHub's corporate communications manager Caitlin Fua told The Straits Times yesterday it is disappointed with MDA's decision to impose the penalty.
She explained Cheaters has been aired in countries including China, India and Indonesia, 'without any difficulty'. Besides, the episode in question was shown at midnight, past young viewers' bedtime.
However, she said that SCV understands 'the authority's concern, and will continue to work closely with our content providers, to ensure that there is no repeat of this incident'.
