China sacks ten officials over 'sex video extortion' scandal
London, Jan 26 (ANI)
Chinese authorities have sacked ten officials as a part of a widening investigation into a sex tape extortion scandal in Chongqing. China's Xinhua news agency said the men were all allegedly filmed by a 'criminal ring', which then blackmailed them. Senior Chongqing official Lei Zhengfu was fired last year after he featured in a sex video.
According to the BBC, he was said to have been entrapped by a construction firm.
The 10 sacked officials include party and government officials in the southwestern city as well as executives in state-owned companies.
The state-run media report said that an investigation into the allegations of extortion had uncovered a "criminal ring" which had "hired women to seduce local officials, covertly filmed their sexual acts and used the videos as tools of extortion".
The investigation is part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption drive in Chongqing and across China, in response to rising public anger at official impropriety.