Earlier this week, Bo Guagua, the son of fallen Chinese politician Bo Xilai, has been fighting claims of his playboy lifestyle and denied that he ever drove a Ferrari.

However, an official with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said Bo Guagua, currently a Harvard graduate student, received three traffic tickets over the course of two years while driving a black Porsche.

According to state records, Bo Guagua received two citations for running a stop sign, and another for speeding – he was caught going 58 in a 30 mph zone.

The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the story, said that Bo Guagua was driving a 2011 Porsche Panamera, though the car was not licensed to him, CNN reported.

Bo Guagua painted himself as a sympathetic character in a letter to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper published Tuesday.

In it, Bo Xilai’ son said he attended social events as an Oxford University undergraduate to broaden his perspective.

Bo Xilai is believed to have been a leading candidate for one of the nine seats on the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, but his political career is now considered over.

He fell out of favor with some in the leadership over his flashy personal style, suspected corruption, and the excesses of a dual campaign to fight gangsters and promote Mao Zedong-era Communist culture in the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing.

Bo Guagua hit out at claims that he had cashed in on his parents’ wealth and influence by spending more partying than studying while he was at Oxford University.

He became renowned for hosting champagne and shisha parties in his room at Balliol College, where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

Bo Guagua hit out at claims that he had cashed in on his parents’ wealth and influence by spending more partying than studying while he was at Oxford University

It was also claimed that Bo Guagua’s performance fell short of what was expected and he was made to sit “penal” exams.

But in an extraordinary twist – and in an astonishing example the influence of Bo Guagua’s parents before their spectacular fall from grace – Chinese officials tried to intervene to prevent tutors from disciplining him over his lack of work, it is understood.

However, Bo Guagua – the son of former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai and his lawyer wife Gu Kailai – did not refer to all these allegations.

In a statement published by the Harvard Crimson student newspaper, he:

• Dismissed claims he has an obsessive love for luxury cars, writing: “I have never driven a Ferrari”;

• Said his academic record was “solid” and had earned a string of top grades – although failed to address the penal exam claims;

• Admitted that he “participated in <<Bops>>”, a type of common Oxford social event – but did not mention the parties in his room; and

• Insisted he had never “lent my name to nor participated in any for-profit business or venture, in China or abroad”.

In the statement, Bo Guagua said he felt compelled to provide “an account of the facts” in response to speculation about his private life and family.

Bo Guagua wrote: “Recently, there has been increasing attention from the press on my private life. As a result of these speculations, I feel responsible to the public to provide an account of the facts.

“I am deeply concerned about the events surrounding my family, but I have no comments to make regarding the ongoing investigation.

“It is impossible to address all of the rumors and allegations about myself, but I will state the facts regarding some of the most pertinent claims.”

Bo Guagua also sought to dampen speculation about financial improprieties over his costly overseas tuition, explaining the fees had been covered by “scholarships earned independently, and my mother’s generosity from the savings she earned from her years as a successful lawyer and writer”.