One of China's top movie directors has admitted having three children with his current wife, according to a studio media posting, apologising after months of speculation he broke the country's controversial family planning laws.
Zhang Yimou, the maker of "Raise the Red Lantern" and "Red Sorghum", has two sons and a daughter with his current wife, the Yimou Studio said in its verified account on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
That would mean Zhang, 62, has a total of four children including a daughter with his ex-wife, potentially violating China's one child policy.
Zhang "would like to make a sincere apology to the public for the negative ramifications caused", said the posting by Yimou Studio, which says it is affiliated to the director.
The disclosure comes after months of speculation that he has seven or eight children by three or four women.
Yimou Studio dismissed those allegations as "untrue" and threatened to hold the rumour-mongers legally responsible.
"The false allegations have seriously affected the normal life of Zhang Yimou's family and led to an egregious impact on society," said the statement.
"We are collecting and sorting out relevant evidence against the rumour-mongers and preserve the right to pursue their legal liability."
China has implemented its family planning law for over 30 years, which currently restricts most parents to one child, with exceptions including some rural families whose first child is a girl, ethnic minorities, and couples who are both only children.
It has been at times brutally enforced, say rights groups, while officials say it has been a key element of China's rising prosperity.
Wealthy Chinese are able to have extra children by paying fines, in which case their offspring will have full legal rights, but women who cannot afford to do so have reportedly been forced to have abortions, provoking outrage over the privileges the rich enjoy.
Government employees also face the risk of losing their jobs if they do not adhere to the policy.
The ruling Communist Party said last month it would relax the regulations by allowing couples to have two children if one of the parents is an only child.
