Chinese film director Zhang Yimou and his wife have paid more than $1.2 million, or 7.5 million Yuan, in fines for having three children due to the one-child rule, the Associated Press reported.
On Friday, officials in the district of the eastern city of Wuxi reported a lump sum amount of $1.2 million was received from Yimou and his wife Chen Ting, the AP reported.
"The Binhu district family planning bureau received through bank transfer Chen Ting and Zhang Yimou's payment of 7,487,854 yuan," the district government said through its verified social media account.
Chinese authorities say Yimou is in violation of China's strict family-planning rules, according to the AP. The family-planning law, implemented in the late 1970s in a bid to prevent overpopulation, restricts most parents to one child.
Critics say the law is enforced unevenly and sometimes aggressively, with wealthy and well-connected families better able to pay fines levied for extra children, the AP reported.
Following months of rumours that he had fathered up to seven children with different women, in December Yimou said he would cooperate with a government investigation, the AP reported. He admitted to having two sons and a daughter.
The case took nine teams more than six months to investigate and the couple's unwillingness to cooperate was said to have slowed down the process.
Yimou is a very well-known director. Some of his films include "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers," the AP reported. In 2008, Yimou designed the opening and closing ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics.
