China subway apologizes over leaked kiss video

BEIJING (Reuters) - Shanghai subway authorities apologized to a Chinese couple videotaped hugging and kissing on a subway platform and dismissed an employee involved in uploading the video which drew thousands of hits, state media said on Friday.

The company found three staff were responsible for taking and uploading the video. Two had already left the company and the other was dismissed after the incident caused "public uproar", Xinhua news agency quoted authorities with Shanghai Metro Operation Co Ltd. as saying.

"We have wrapped up an internal investigation and found the videotape was uploaded by people who had worked for Shanghai metro," they said.

"We made formal apologies and are negotiating with the couple over compensation."

The three-minute footage was uploaded online earlier this week, attracting thousands of hits on sites such as YouTube and sina.com.

Authorities have credited the installation of hundreds of thousands of closed-circuit security cameras in large Chinese cities for helping to reduce crime in recent years.

But Chinese legal experts and scholars have called for more robust privacy legislation to regulate the use of video footage and impose penalties on its abuse.