China official in sex case gets 13 years for bribery

BEIJING (AP) — A former Chinese official at the center of a sex tape scandal was convicted of taking more than 3.1 million yuan ($500,000) in bribes and sentenced to 13 years in prison yesterday, at a time when China’s new generation of leadership has vowed to crack down on widespread graft.

Lei Zhengfu, former party chief of a district in the southcentral metropolis of Chongqing, did not say whether he would appeal the verdict by the city’s No. 1 Intermediate Court, according to state media. His punishment also includes confiscation of personal assets of 300,000 yuan ($48,000).

Lei’s case has riveted the public since video clips went viral of the portly 55-year-old having sex with a 25-year-old woman hired by property developers, allegedly in an elaborate extortion scheme.

As more lurid details emerged, the scandal has exposed the shady intertwining of sex, money and power.