Chinese film director Zhang Yimou has been fined $1.2 million for violating the country’s one-child policy.

Zhang Yimou, who said he has three children, has 30 days to pay 7.5 million yuan ($1.2 million), state media say.

In December, Zhang Yimou, known for directing the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in 2008, apologized for violating the strict policy.

China introduced the policy in the 1970s to curb population growth.

Until recently, the policy limited most urban couples to a single child. Rural families were allowed to have two children if their first-born was a girl.

Zhang Yimou has been fined $1.2 million for violating China’s one-child policy

However, last year, China said it would relax the policy – families will be allowed two children if one parent is an only child.

The family planning bureau in Binhu district, Wuxi city, Jiangsu province, sent Zhang Yimou, 61, a letter collecting the “social maintenance fee”, Xinhua news agency says, citing the district’s official microblog account.

The fine was calculated based on the income of Zhang Yimou and his wife, Chen Ting, when their two sons and daughter were born, the Binhu government said.

The couple made $580,000 in 2000, 2003 and 2005, the Binhu government added.

Zhang Yimou’s wife – who denied reports he fathered more children with other women – is from Wuxi city.

Zhang Yimou directed some of China’s most successful films, including Hero, The House of Flying Daggers and The Flowers of War.