[Photo: Vivian Chow and Joe Ni had a happy ending despite the latter being snapped kissing another woman.]

Three celebrities have been in the spotlight recently for letting their women down and for how they have apologised for it.

In one corner, there is R&B singer Chris Brown's limp apology over his alleged abuse of his girlfriend, pop star Rihanna. At a mere 111 words, his public apology hardly seems to cut it.

Granted, the apology did begin with: 'Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired' - although 'what transpired' is a very vague term, in the light of the photo of a battered Rihanna that was posted on the Internet.

Brown, 19, allegedly assaulted Rihanna, 21, on the eve of the Grammys early last month. It took a week after the incident for him to release his written apology.

Media consultant Paul Carr, director and head of training of Paul Carr Consultancy and author of the book From Singapore To Seattle: How To Manage The Media, notes: 'He didn't even mention her name.'

Nor did Brown say explicitly what he was apologising for.

Carr says: 'A statement is an opportunity to set the record straight in a gracious way and his doesn't strike me as sincere in accepting responsibility.'

In the other corner are Hong Kong bad boys Edison Chen and Joe Ni.

Actor Chen, 28, became prime tabloid fodder last year when the thousand-odd explicit photos he had taken of himself and several Hong Kong female artistes were leaked online.

Writer, DJ and compere Ni, 44, also caused a furore last year when this long-time boyfriend to sweetie-pie star Vivian Chow was snapped kissing another woman in a bar.

Both men issued extensive public apologies, seeming to bend over backwards to express their humility and shame.

In his seven-minute speech at a press conference, Chen said 'sorry' three times and 'apologise' seven times, unequivocally stating that he has 'failed as a role model'.

Ni's written statement was even more florid. Besides apologising repeatedly to Chow, he also wrote that his behaviour was the result of a 'mid-life crisis' and that he would 'face this problem, improve myself and not rule out seeking professional counselling'.

Says Carr: 'Both their statements contained many of the key words you'd expect from someone who is being genuinely sincere in their apology.

'Both took responsibility for what happened. Chen said he would assist the police and dedicate his time to charity - these are words that work when reacting to a personal crisis.'

However, he adds, 'the forgiveness of the victims of a scandal helps in the recovery process'. And that is where the paths of our two erring playboys diverge.

Chow, 41, issued her statement on the same day as Ni, with her forgiveness already explicit despite the announcement of their split. Less than a month later, she married him.

Chen, on the other hand, has not fared so well with his former paramours.

Last month, actress Cecilia Cheung, 28, one of the women featured in the leaked photos, gave her first interview on the scandal, tearfully blasting Chen for dodging her calls.

She also revealed that he has yet to apologise to her directly, as did another former lover, singer-actress Gillian Chung, 28, who said in an interview earlier this month: 'Why hasn't he called to apologise?'

This effectively negated any lingering goodwill generated by his seemingly heartfelt public apology. He is not the only one who should be trying harder to master the art of an apology.

Says Carr: 'I think with the new media mentality of catching people in the act of making mistakes, more and more people are going to get caught doing things they shouldn't be doing.

'Just about everyone carries a phone with a camera now; you could be the next scandal - be warned.'

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.