BEIJING – A top scientist who was publicly accused by his estranged wife of having affairs and misusing government research grants has been arrested, according to his employer on Thursday.
Duan Zhenhao, who had been in line for a senior role with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is alleged to have used public money to pay personal travel expenses and is suspected of corruption.
A statement on the website of the academy’s institute of geology and geophysics, his employer, says Duan was taken into police custody on charges of corruption but does not say when.
Officials at the institute could not be reached on Thursday. China Daily was also unable to confirm the arrest with authorities before going to press.
Duan has been under the spotlight since Cao, his wife, started on June 29 to post stories and pictures about his alleged exploits on her blog.
Cao, who did not want to be identified, told China Daily on Thursday she has plenty of evidence relating to her husband’s “illegal doings”, but added: “I haven’t handed in my evidence to (police) yet because it’s not a good time.”
She declined to comment on what she will do next and refused to react to the statement about Duan’s arrest.
Following Cao’s posts, in which she accused her husband of misusing funds, sleeping with one of his students and fathering an illegitimate daughter, the institute launched an investigation. It later revealed that the student in question, surnamed Zhang, had changed tutors in 2010 because of health reasons and was still studying for a doctoral degree.
Source: China Daily