Six sentenced to jail over sex video scandal in China

Six people received jail terms ranging from 18 months to ten years in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Friday for blackmailing government officials with secretly recorded sex videos.

Xiao Ye, Xu Sheqing, Yan Peng, Wang Jianjun, Zhao Hongxia and Tan Linling were charged with extortion and stood trial on June 20.

Xiao and Xu, who had conspired to lure officials into having sex with women and secretly recorded their encounters in order to blackmail them and to gain profits for their business, were sentenced to ten years and four years respectively, according to a Yubei district people's court ruling.

Yan and Wang, accomplices of Xiao, were sentenced to 3.5 years and 1.5 years with a 1.5-year-reprieve respectively, according to the ruling.

In February 2008, Xiao blackmailed Lei Zhengfu, former secretary of Chongqing's Beibei District Committee of the Communist Party of China, for 3 million yuan (485,539 US dollars).

Xiao also received 2 million yuan from Zhou Tianyun, former president of Chongqing Land Group, for the same reason in September 2009, according to the ruling.

Zhao, who was recorded having sex with Lei, was given a jail term of two years with a two-year reprieve.

Tan, who was recorded having sex with Zhou, was given a jail term of one-and-a-half years with an 18-month reprieve.

All their illegal earnings were confiscated, according to the ruling.

Xiao, Xu and Yan appealed to the court on Friday. Zhao, Tan and Wang said they would not appeal.

In a separate trial, Lei was sentenced to 13 years in jail for bribery on Friday, according to the Chongqing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court's ruling.