Chinese reporter arrested over fabrications

In this TV screen shot, Chen Yongzhou, a reporter of the New Express, and detained by Changsha Police, is confessing having accepted bribes to defame the state-owned construction equipment maker Zoomlion for money and fame in Changsha, Central China's Hunan province, October 26, 2013. [Photo/icpress.cn]

CHANGSHA - A Chinese reporter was officially arrested on Wednesday for alleged damage to commercial reputation, days after he confessed to fabricating a series of reports targeting a listed company.

The Yuelu District People's Procuratorate in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province, on Wednesday approved the arrest of Chen Yongzhou, of daily newspaper the New Express, based in Guangzhou of neighboring Guangdong Province.

Chen's arrest came after Zoomlion, a large engineering company in Changsha, reported to police in Changsha on September 9 that Chen had fabricated facts and defamed the company in a series of reports since 2012, which damaged its commercial reputation and caused severe losses.

Police in Changsha launched an official investigation on September 16 and detained Chen in Guangzhou on October 18 after uncovering a large amount of related evidence.

In video footage aired by China Central Television on Saturday, Chen said to police that he had released a series of unverified and false reports against Zoomlion at the request of others and for money and fame.

The reports had resulted in the company's stocks dropping and public accusations against its management.

Chen, 27, has served as a New Express reporter since his graduation in 2009.

He apologized to the company, stock investors and his own family.

The New Express on Sunday apologized for Chen's untrue stories, pledging to strengthen management of its employees and the publication procedure, and to carry out an overhaul targeting any existing problems.