China 'sex-tape' official Lei Zhengfu put on trial

Lei Zhengfu was expelled from the Communist Party after the scandal emerged

A former Chinese official accused of accepting bribes in an alleged sex tape extortion scandal has been put on trial, state media say.

Lei Zhengfu's trial opened on Wednesday at the Chongqing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court in southwest China.

The senior Chongqing official was removed from his post and held by police after a sex tape featuring him emerged online last year.

At least 10 officials have been dismissed as a result of the scandal.

Mr Lei is accused of accepting bribes of around 3.16m Chinese yuan ($0.51m; £0.33m), Chinese media said.

The businessman who arranged the alleged trap and the woman in the video with Mr Lei are also due to face court.

The businessman, Xiao Ye, is accused of luring several officials into so-called "honey traps".

His idea was to use the videos to extort money or ensure favourable contracts for property developments, reports say.

The blackmail scheme was exposed by a blogger and investigative journalist Zhu Ruifeng.