A CHINESE author has been jailed for 10-years for writing a novel that includes gay sex scenes under the country’s anti-pornography laws.

A court in Anhui province found the writer, known only as Liu, guilty of producing and selling “obscene material” following the publication of her novel Occupation.

More than 7,000 copies of the book are believed to have been sold and she was charged under laws under which pornography is banned.

The erotic fiction writer is known by her online alias Tian Yi and was accused of making profit from her book which featured “male homosexual behaviour including perverted sexual acts like violation and abuse.”

Authorities were alerted to the content of the novel after it gained online popularity and there has been a wave of online protest against Liu’s lengthy prison sentence.

Four other people involved in the publication of the book also received jail sentences ranging between 10 months and 10-and-a-half years, as well as fines.

Liu and one other person are reportedly appealing against the sentence.