The Chongqing Communist Party's disciplinary commission has endorsed penalties for dozens of city officials linked to a sex and corruption scandal.
Xinhua reported yesterday that 21 officials, including Lei Zhengfu, former party chief of Beibei district, have been sentenced.
The long-awaited decision shows the government in Chongqing was forced to make the decision
Lei, filmed having sex with a woman hired by developers seeking favours in bids for construction projects, will be dismissed from the party.
The sex scandal erupted in November when whistle-blower Zhu Ruifeng uploaded screenshots from video footage showing Lei, 57, having sex with an 18-year-old woman.
Lei was fired within days of the footage going viral online, and at least 10 more government officials and executives from state-owned companies have been dismissed for appearing in other secretly filmed sex videos.
"The long-awaited decision shows the government in Chongqing was forced to make the decision by the weight of public opinion," Zhu said. "The government was papering over the problems and did not want to release information immediately and transparently."