Blackmailed sex-tape official promoted despite vice investigation
Criminal gang filmed officials having sex and used footage to carry out blackmail
An official caught in a 2010 blackmail-by-sex-tape scandal in Hunan province was given a promotion two years after the event, even though authorities were aware of his involvement in the controversy, mainland media reported.
Yin Wen was ejected from the Communist Party and removed from his position as vice-chairman of the Changning Municipal People’s Congress on Monday for the scandal. Five additional officials from other cities and municipalities in the province who were involved were also removed from office and expelled from the party.
The officers were lured into having sex with two girls hired by a criminal gang between May and November 2010. Their intimate moments were secretly filmed, and the footage was used by the gang to blackmail the officials for cash.
The Southern Metropolis Daily reported that Yin had turned himself in to the police and informed the authorities after being trapped.
But the authorities, aware of the scam, did not punish the officials until Monday.
Yin, who was the chief of the Changning labour and social security bureau, was even named the first vice-chairman of the municipal people’s congress, in November 2012.
Yin chaired the closing session of the people’s congress at that time. The session was held when the mainland society was abuzz over Lei Zhengfu, a former Chongqing district party chief who was fired after a video showing him having sex with a young woman was leaked online.
Yin told the newspaper that he had reported the blackmail to the police because he did not want other officials to be trapped.
“I was caught off guard and I was trapped,” he was quoted by the newspaper as saying. “The public security authority said I assisted in the detection of the case because I had filed a report,” he added.
Another official implicated in the scam told the newspaper that he is willing to take responsibility for his actions, but added that he believed that it is difficult for senior officials to refuse temptation.
