The magazine was charged in Kwun Tong Magistracy with violating prevention of child pornography regulations after it published the pictures on its front and inside pages in an edition in June last year.

Also acquitted of the same charge were the magazine's editor-in-chief, Yuen Choi-yuk, and printer Paramount Printing.

The photographs showed pop singer Renee Lee Wan - a member of the pop trio Cream - in a wet T-shirt in various sexy poses.

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Magistrate Gary Lam Kar-yan ruled that the magazine did not violate the regulations governing child pornography as there was no evidence that the photos focused on the singer's breasts and that she was wearing a bra at the time.

Whether a 14-year-old should wear revealing clothes had to do with fashion, and whether her T-shirt was wet or not was for the editor to decide.

The magistrate said the contents of the article accompanying the photos could be summarized by the Britney Spears song I Am Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman, and there was nothing in the article linking Lee with sex.

Although the magistrate agreed that the photographs were controversial morally, he said public acceptance of a 14-year-old girl posing in such photographs was a matter of personal taste and a decision for the editor to make.

The prosecution said it will study the judgment before deciding whether to appeal.

Barrister Andrew Powner, representing Easyfinder, argued there was nothing obscene in the article, which was mainly about how the girl grew up.

Journalism academics said the mass media should exercise self-discipline in their coverage of stories on teenagers.

Leung Tin-wai, head of the journalism department at Shue Yan University, said misleading and sensitive pictures, especially those involving teenagers, should be avoided in publications. "If you have a young girl photographed in a wet T-shirt, is it necessary to go that far?" he asked.

Peter Chiu - Lee's manager - said the singer has been under great pressure since the pictures were published. She needed to rest for a while and would continue with her career.

The pictures and the article, which portrayed Lee as "a big girl," sparked outrage among parents and children's rights groups, and prompted 138 complaints to the Telecommunications and Entertainment Licensing Authority.

Easyfinder, published by Next Media Group, has so far been convicted 14 times for publishing "indecent articles" and slapped with fines ranging from HK$1,000 to HK$50,000.

The most recent case was in August last year when the Obscene Articles Tribunal convicted the magazine of publishing semi-nude pictures of Gillian Chung Yan-tung - a member of the popular pop duo Twins. Photos showed Chung fixing her bra while changing backstage during a performance break at Genting Highlands in Malaysia.

Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Joseph Wong Wing- ping earlier called on parents to shun publications carrying indecent articles. The government and parents had the responsibility to protect teenagers from being influenced by such publications.