By An Baijie

A former tobacco official was arrested on corruption charges after someone posted details from his personal diary on the Internet along with explicit details of his sexual liaisons and the bribes he accepted.

A notice published Saturday on the official website of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region procuratorate said Han Feng, 53, took 482,000 yuan ($70,600) and an apartment valued at 300,000 yuan ($44,000) from contractors.

Han was the head of the sales department of the Laibin Tobacco Monopoly Administration until last month when he was fired.

He allegedly took the money from contractors who built his office building and the office's Internet connection. He took the position in 2002.

The postings were made last month and included details about his life from January 2007 to June 2008. The posts included explicit descriptions about his affairs with six female colleagues and subordinates, the bribes and how he used public funds for banquets.

The local procuratorate questioned those mentioned in the postings and found enough evidence to move ahead with the case, a source told the Beijing Times.

The notice did not say whether details from the diary were true or not but explained Han played a "key role" and that the investigation is ongoing.

Han apparently wrote in his diary that he took 275,000 yuan ($40,000) in bribes, which is less than what the procuratorate's statement said. There was no information about the apartment on the Internet and the procuratorate confirmed it.

The women involved in the scandal are being investigated by the procuratorate, according to China Youth Daily.

Some photos of the women were posted on the Internet, said Han's office director surnamed Liao.

Han asked the police to track down the person who released the diary to the Internet and prosecute him, Chengdu Business Daily reported.

But an officer at the local police told the Global Times last week that they didn't receive such a request from Han.

Han's case triggered heated discussion during the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference last week, where conference participants expressed concerned with the nation's anti-corruption efforts.

Chen Shu, a NPC deputy and the honorary chief of Guangzhou Bar Association, told the Xinhua News Agency that the Internet played an important role in exposing Han's crimes. Chen added that corruption cannot be eradicated only through Web-initiated oversight, and that China should establish a comprehensive mechanism to tackle cor-ruption.