Fang Zhouzi, a campaigner against academic and scientific fraud who recently led the campaign to expose alleged fraud by business leader Tang Jun, was apparently attacked outside his home, according to China Daily:
Fang Zhouzi, who is known as a “science cop” for battling against pseudoscience and academic misconduct, was attacked Sunday evening near his residence in Beijing, according to his wife’s posting in his microblog on China’s news portal Sina.com.cn.
The posting reads: “I’m Fang’s wife. Just a moment ago near our home, Fang Zhouzi got slightly hurt by an attack from two men using pepper water and hammers.”
According to a news report from caing.com, two men who ambushed near his apartment sprayed pepper water into Fang’s eyes and hit him with hammers on his back when he returned from an interview at a tea house nearby at around 5 pm.
Fang was part of a community of journalists and activists investigating fraud in the scientific community. One of his cohorts, Fang Xuanchang, was also brutally attacked this year. Read more about Fang Zhouzi, who was named one of the 20 most influential figures in Chinese cyberspace by Southern Metropolis Daily in 2008, via CDT.
