Official arrest of journalist for Zoomlion misreporting

A reporter from a Guangzhou-based newspaper, the New Express, who took bribes to malign Zoomlion, a heavy machinery company, was officially arrested on Wednesday in Changsha, Central China's Hunan province, on charges of damaging commercial reputation.

The Yuelu District People's Procuratorate in Changsha on Wednesday approved the arrest of Chen Yongzhou, a reporter from the New Express who was detained by the police on October 18 and accused of "fabricating facts" in his series of articles on Zoomlion.

Chen confessed to doing so for money on China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday.

The Yangcheng Evening News Group, the parent firm of the New Express, said that the group will dispatch investigators to probe into the management of the New Express, according to a statement on the front page of the Yangcheng Evening News Tuesday.

The group vowed to "handle all problems in a serious manner and oversee the rectification" of the New Express.

A total of 14 negative reports about Zoomlion were published under Chen's byline between September 2012 and August 2013.

The New Express twice called for Chen's release on its front page and the All-China Journalists Association, an industry organization, released a statement on its website saying that the legal rights of journalists should be protected.

The Yangcheng Evening News Group could not be reached for comments as of press time on Wednesday.