Top public relations director at Chinese social media giant Weibo arrested

Chinese authorities have arrested a top public relations executive at Chinese social media giant Weibo Corp, local Chinese media reported widely on Tuesday and confirmed to Reuters by a company source.

Mao Taotao, director of public relations at Weibo, is suspected of bribery and had “seriously harmed the interests of the company”, according to an internal memo sent to staff and seen by Reuters.

“In accordance with company policy and the law, we have decided to fire Mao as punishment, and will not re-hire him,” the memo said.

The memo said Mao had been arrested by authorities.Mao joined Weibo in 2010 and quickly rose through the ranks of the marketing and PR department, the memo states.