(gg)

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong karaoke hostess was jailed for three years Wednesday for blackmailing a senior government official by threatening to go public with a steamy videotape, a spokeswoman at the judiciary said.

Hui Wing, 36, had threatened to expose her relationship with the official, referred to as Mr. X to protect his identity during the trial, unless he paid her HK$590,000 ($75,000).

The Hong Kong official, who is married with children, had appeared in court behind a screen as Hui spilled details of the liaison, including descriptions of sex in his office and how she had accompanied him on business visits to neighboring Macau and Guangdong.

District court judge Andrew Chan sentenced Hui to three years' jail on each of two counts of blackmail, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Chan said, however, he believed Hui and Mr. X had developed a loving relationship during their four-month affair, even calling each other husband and wife before it soured.

Hui, from the Chinese province of Hubei, met Mr. X in a Hong Kong karaoke club in late 2006.

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