'Love affair' comes with conditions attached

The bizarre "love-affair" contract of a Chinese official has left the man a laughing stock after it was exposed online.

The man's mistress was forced to sign the contract, which had six points, stating the boundaries for their romance, The Telegraph reported.

The man, Tao Yi, was a senior tax official from the Guangxi province, and was seeing a married woman known only as "Ms Fan".

The conditions of the tryst are as follows:

1 No sex with third parties while the two sides are still in a relationship.

2 Meet at least once a week.

3 If the two come into conflict any break-up must be announced in written form.

4 If one party violates clause one, there will be a one-off compensation payment of 10,000 yuan [$1700] for mental damages to the other party.

5 The woman shall not interfere with the man's work or family, or she will be punished accordingly.

6 The man shall take care of the woman's living costs as per their agreement.

Tao had been relieved of his government duties, a spokesperson said, and the tax bureau was investigating the "contract.

Punters were less than complimentary towards Tao on Chinese social media site Weibo.

"Surely, the official is aware that this love-affair contract is not protected by law," wrote one.

"With President Xi Jinping currently waging a high-profile war on corruption and debauchery, the leaked agreement represents a flagrant breach of Mr Tao's contract with his Communist Party employers in the city of Guigang."