TAIPEI - A DAILY newspaper in Taiwan has been fined for running animated news deemed too explicit for young audiences on its website, a Taipei city official said on Thursday.

The Apple Daily was ordered to pay NT$500,000 (S$21,409) on Wednesday after the Taipei city government reviewed the computer animations, which depicted real-life violent crime in a graphic fashion.

The online news service, which allegedly featured stories like a father sexually assaulting his daughter and a husband killing his wife, triggered outrage among women's groups which feared its effect on children and teenagers.

Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin told reporters the newspaper will face repeated fines if it fails to improve.

The newspaper - which is owned by Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai - said in a report that it humbly accepted the criticism and will reflect and improve the content.

Mr Lai, chairman of Hong Kong-listed Next Media Ltd., expanded his media empire to cover the island early this decade, launching local editions of Next weekly and the Apple Daily newspaper. Both have been commercial successes.