TEHERAN • Was he sleeping on the job? A regional boss of Iran's state broadcaster IRIB has been fired after letting a Jackie Chan sex scene slip through its tight censorship rules.

Local media reported on Monday that viewers on Iran's Kish Island were shocked when a TV station showed the martial arts star having sex with a prostitute in the movie Shinjuku Incident (2009).

That is far beyond the usual limits in Iran, where men and women are not even allowed to shake hands on screen.

There was a quick response after a viewer posted the clip online.

"Clips of immoral scenes of a film featuring Jackie Chan have been circulating on social media which was apparently shown by Kish IRIB," the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

"These scenes, which are in total contradiction with the principles of IRIB, have ultimately led to the dismissal and reprimand of some of the employees of IRIB in Kish," it said, adding this included the director-general.

There were angry responses from some Iranians who pointed out that no one had been fired over a recent bus crash that killed 10 students at Teheran's Azad University.

"Buses turn over, planes crash, ships sink... no one is dismissed... A few seconds of Jackie Chan making love on IRIB and immediately all staff in that section are sacked," wrote one Twitter user.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE