The student told police he lost the USB flash drive containing the 18-minute video in mid-February.

HKU last night issued a statement confirming the incident, adding it has contacted the student involved and will conduct an investigation into the matter.

If the downloading of the video involved any HKU students, the school said it will study the need to refer the matter to the disciplinary committee.

ADVERTISEMENT

Kwok Wing-kin, student union president, said he heard of the video more than a week ago.

He said the union condemned the act as an invasion of privacy and urged those in possession of the video to delete it and stop forwarding it.

The video depicts the student having sexual intercourse with a girl in what looked like a hotel room. It is believed that the two were aware of the filming as they were seen looking into the camera.

The video has been mainly circulated among HKU students.

Self-proclaimed online insiders claimed the male student is from the mainland and has already dropped out of the university, while the female is also a HKU student.

Meanwhile, a survey showed more than half of all secondary school students admitted to illegal downloading, with 60 percent believing the act is not traceable.

The Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention said that 30 percent of 1,719 primary and secondary students surveyed believe violating intellectual property rights is not a crime.

Ivy Chow Pui-sze, research and development officer, said youngsters should recognize that the online world and reality are connected, despite their using aliases in chatrooms and discussion boards.

The survey also showed internet usage increases along with the age of students.

Nearly one in every 10 students reported spending more than 10 hours a day on the internet.

Chow urged parents, schools and society to work together on educating students on the concept of intellectual property rights.

He said that the more time a youngster spends on the internet, the bigger the opportunity to download illegal material.