HONG KONG - A Chinese-Canadian actor-singer at the centre of a high-profile celebrity sex photo scandal has been threatened with harm in a letter containing a bullet, a Hong Kong television station said Thursday.

Edison Chen caused a huge uproar in Asia's socially conservative Chinese community when photos showing him performing sex acts with eight Hong Kong actresses and singers were posted on the Internet last year.

The anonymous English-language letter warned Chen not to appear at any promotional events and threatened him with harm if he did, said Cable TV, which received the letter Wednesday afternoon.

The TV report Thursday did not say if the letter, which was mailed with a gold-coloured bullet, explicitly linked the threat with the sex photo scandal and did not specify the type of harm Chen could suffer if he ignored it.

Cable TV publicist Jacqueline Cheung said the letter did not specifically mention the sex photos scandal. She was not able to say if it specifically threatened Chen's life.

The envelope that carried the letter had U.S. postage stamps stuck on it and the return address was in Pennsylvania, Cable TV said. The station's footage showed no postmarks on the letter.

The broadcaster said it reported the matter to the Hong Kong police.

Calls to the Hong Kong police rang busy and officers didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Chen's management company, East Asia Entertainment Ltd., said in a statement it was "shocked" but had no further comment.

Chen publicly apologized in February 2008. He and other stars featured in the photos have only recently started to resurface.

The 28-year-old Chen testified two weeks ago against a computer technician accused of stealing the photos from his laptop and he attended a promotional event at a Singapore hamburger restaurant later that week.

Singer Gillian Chung of the popular female singing duo Twins and actress Cecilia Cheung have discussed the scandal in television interviews in recent weeks and Chung announced her first endorsement deal since the scandal.

Chen appeared in the 2002 hit Hong Kong police thriller "Infernal Affairs," which Martin Scorsese remade as "The Departed," and in the 2006 horror movie "The Grudge 2" alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar. He also had a cameo in the Hollywood blockbuster "The Dark Knight," released last year.