(IC)

Fang Zhouzi, a Chinese writer well-known for exposing academic fraud, has been given the Righteous Person of the Year award by the website of the Procuratorial Daily, the official newspaper of China's Supreme People's Procuratorate, for his devotion to debunking bogus research and academic corruption, as well as fraudulent science and academic credentials.

Fang, 44, was born in China's Fujian Province. After graduating from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1990, he went to the United States for further study and received a Ph.D in biochemistry from Michigan State University in 1995.

"Fang is a fearless fighter who constantly takes a knife to academic fraud and the fabrication of academic credentials. He guards faith in science by being a science policeman," said the award's organizing committee.

Fang said exposing fraud hadn't brought him any financial benefit, but much benefit to society. "Fraud conducted by celebrities does greater public harm than that of ordinary citizens," said Fang. He also built a website for the purpose of exposing academic fraud.

Fang's stance has upset some people and last August he was violently attacked by people hired by a doctor whom Fang had accused of academic misconduct.