Chongqing pledges thorough probe into sex tape scandal

Authorities on Monday pledged a thorough investigation into the sex tape scandal that has led to the removal of a senior official in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The Chongqing Municipal Committee for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China said it will not tolerate officials' misconduct, each of the reported cases will be investigated and each official involved will be punished.

Lei Zhengfu, the top official of a district in Chongqing, was removed from his post last week after an investigation by the Chongqing Municipal Committee for Discipline Inspection confirmed that he was the man featured in a sex tape widely circulated online.

The discipline watchdog's pledge came as media reports said a whistleblower in the case alleged that he had video footage of five other senior officials in Chongqing also engaged in sexual acts.

But the city's discipline watchdog said it had not formally received these allegations or the footage by early Monday.

It said Lei's case is being fully investigated and the results will be released to the public in time.

Lei's scandal was among the most discussed on the Internet last week, and his immediate sacking met with overwhelming support from netizens.

Web condemnation from the public has led to the removal of at least three officials in recent months. Yang Dacai, former Shaanxi provincial work safety chief, was sacked in September, and Cai Bin, an urban management official in south China's Guangdong Province, was fired in October.

Yang was caught wearing various luxury watches in pictures posted online, while Cai was exposed as the owner of 22 homes. The value of Yang's collection of watches and Cai's homes far exceed their civil servant salaries.