A government official who paid a 13-year-old for sex has escaped criminal charges after claiming that he did not know the girl was underage.

Lu Yumin, a taxation official in Yibin county, Sichuan province, was fined 5,000 yuan ($730) after having sexual intercourse with a virgin last December.

Lu was arrested on suspicion of child rape after the victim Xiao Wei (not her real name) reported the incident to police on March 3.