AFP, DHAKA, May 3: Bangladesh's cabinet has approved the country's first ever pornography law after public scandals over a string of celebrity sex tapes, an official said Tuesday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government said it would introduce a draft law in parliament to make production and distribution of pornography punishable by up to ten years in jail.
"We don't have any laws now to prosecute criminals who make pornographic materials and spread them through the Internet and mobile phones," spokesman Abul Kalam Azad told AFP.
"We hope the new law will prevent immoral behaviour," he said, adding that pornography had become a "social disease" in the conservative, Muslim-majority country.
The law is likely to be passed after being debated by parliament.
Earlier this year, a married television actress was forced to go into hiding after a video was circulated online showing her having sex with her lover. All her shows have since been cancelled.
Last month, another video hit the Internet showing a popular female host of World Cup cricket coverage having sex with an unidentified man.
Police said the existing laws did not enable them to prosecute those involved in making or passing on the videos.