FOR 18 long years, Hong Kong actress Carina Lau kept mum about her humiliating ordeal at the hands of triad members.

But now, with her impending marriage to long-time actor boyfriend Tony Leung, Carina, 43, has finally broken her silence.

Back in April 1990, the budding actress was bundled off into a car, blindfolded and forcibly photographed nude by triad members.

The incident came to light years later, in 2002, reported The New Paper on Sunday.

That was when Hong Kong's East Week magazine published a topless photograph of her being held against her will on its front cover.

While her eyes were masked, speculation was rampant that the actress involved was Carina.

She kept mum for a few weeks after its publication and later admitted she was indeed the actress in the photographs.

In her first candid interview since the photos were leaked, she told Hong Kong newspaper Nanfang Doushibao that she had stepped on some triad members' toes by refusing to act in a movie that they were involved with.

At the time, there was a lot of triad involvement and investment in the Hong Kong film industry, she said.

'Because I didn't agree to filming the movie, they decide to punish me by doing this', she added.

TNP said on the morning of April 25, 1990, she was driving home when she realised that another car was tailing her.

After she turned into a carpark, a number of big sized men opened her door and grabbed from the car.

'They dragged me into car and covered both my eyes,' recounted Carina.

'I was terrified - I thought they were going to kill me and dump my body in a deserted field.'

Even though the men made her pose nude, she insisted that they was not taken advantage of.

'I don't hate those four men that held me. They were just following orders. They never molested me, so I'm grateful to them for that.'

Carina was released about two hours later. She made a police report, but the culprits were never caught.