Former official to appeal against sentence

A former official who was jailed for bribery appealed to a higher court on Wednesday afternoon.

According to China News Service, Lei Zhengfu's lawyer, Lu Lei, said he did not plead guilty and has appealed to a higher court.

Lei, the former Party secretary of Chongqing's Beibei district, who was involved in a sex video scandal, was sentenced to 13 years in jail at the No 1 Intermediate People's Court in Chongqing on June 28.

Lei was sentenced for taking bribes of more than 3.16 million yuan ($514,000).

Lei has become a household name since his sex tape with a young woman appeared online in November.

He was removed from his post later and detained by police.