Chinese film director Wang Quanan arrested for soliciting prostitutes
Filmmaker allegedly confessed to paying 31-year-old woman HK$1,100 for sex
Award-winning film director Wang Quanan has been arrested by the police in Beijing for allegedly soliciting prostitutes, becoming the latest celebrity to be held on criminal charges in the capital in recent months.
The Beijing police bureau said in a statement yesterday that the film director was arrested last Wednesday evening at a flat in the capital's Dongcheng district with a 31-year-old prostitute.
Wang is said to have confessed to the police that he paid the woman 800 yuan (HK$1,000) for sex and admitted that he hired her through information he received in text messages.
The statement also alleged that he admitted calling other prostitutes on Monday and Tuesday last week.
An 18-year-old woman was arrested on a charge of organising prostitution and six others were arrested for prostitution, Xinhua reported.
Wang, 48, won the prestigious Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007.
His entry, Tuya's Marriage, was about a woman in rural Inner Mongolia looking for a partner to care for her and her disabled ex-husband. Wang is well known for his films' portrayal of rural life on the mainland.