China jails ‘sex tape’ official, Lei Zhengfu, for 13 years

Lei Zhengfu, the so-called "sex tape" official from China's Chongqing district, has been jailed for 13 years for accepting bribes. 

Lei was sacked from his post after a sex tape featuring him was posted online last year, part of an extortion attempt by property developers that exposed the links between "sex, money and power in Chinese society," according to the Guardian.

A businessman charged with luring several officials into "honey traps" and using the incriminating videos to extort money or win contracts for property developments is also on trial.

The young woman filmed having sex with Lei, a portly 55-year-old, has also been charged.

Lei, meantime, was convicted of accepting bribes of around 3.16m Chinese yuan ($500,000), the BBC reported.

He told his lawyer earlier that he would consider appealing if found guilty.

Since coming to office, President Xi Jinping — part of a new generation of leadership — has declared he will make efforts to stamp out corruption.

Ten other officials have been dismissed as a result of the sex-tape scandal.

According to GlobalPost's senior correspondent in Hong Kong, Benjamin Carlson, "it's a scandal the Communist Party will be glad to see gone, given that it neatly encapsulates all the worst vices of Chinese officialdom in the public's eyes: corruption, sexual rapacity, an attitude of impunity."