A photo purported to be of Zhao Hongxia which has been posted on the internet. (Internet photo)
Authorities in Chongqing are going after the women involved in the recent sex video scandal exposed by Beijing citizen journalist Zhu Ruifeng, who were employed by a local businessmen to seduce officials in return for lucrative construction contracts and filmed their sexual encounters for the purposes of blackmail later on.
Zhao Hongxia, the woman who appeared in the first video to be released which showed her having intercourse with Lei Zhengfu, the party chief of Chongqing's Beipei district, has been detained by the police, while two other women have reportedly been held, reports the Shandong-based Qilu Evening News.
Starting with Lei, who has dismissed within days of the video being posted on the internet in November, some 10 senior Chongqing officials and managers of state-run companies have been sacked after being implicated in the scandal.
Zhao is confirmed to have been arrested on Dec. 31 last year for fraud and blackmail, while two other two women, surnamed Zheng and Tan, have also been questioned by the police.
One of the two women has reportedly been permitted to remain under house arrest as she needs to nurse her child, while the other is said to have been bailed and awaiting trial.
The women were hired by local businessman Xiao Ye, who also reportedly had sexual relations with them as he tasked them with sleeping with government officials and executives at state-owned enterprises. It is suspected that the number of women involved in Xiao's honeytrap ring may be more than three and several more local officials may have been implicated than have been dismissed so far.
Authorities in Chongqing are going after the women involved in the recent sex video scandal exposed by Beijing citizen journalist Zhu Ruifeng, who were employed by a local businessmen to seduce officials in return for lucrative construction contracts and filmed their sexual encounters for the purposes of blackmail later on.
Zhao Hongxia, the woman who appeared in the first video to be released which showed her having intercourse with Lei Zhengfu, the party chief of Chongqing's Beipei district, has been detained by the police, while two other women have reportedly been held, reports the Shandong-based Qilu Evening News.
Starting with Lei, who has dismissed within days of the video being posted on the internet in November, some 10 senior Chongqing officials and managers of state-run companies have been sacked after being implicated in the scandal.
Zhao is confirmed to have been arrested on Dec. 31 last year for fraud and blackmail, while two other two women, surnamed Zheng and Tan, have also been questioned by the police.
One of the two women has reportedly been permitted to remain under house arrest as she needs to nurse her child, while the other is said to have been bailed and awaiting trial.
The women were hired by local businessman Xiao Ye, who also reportedly had sexual relations with them as he tasked them with sleeping with government officials and executives at state-owned enterprises. It is suspected that the number of women involved in Xiao's honeytrap ring may be more than three and several more local officials may have been implicated than have been dismissed so far.
