Renowned Chinese writer detained over drug use

Script-writer and novelist Chen Wanning has been arrested over drug use, Beijing police said on Thursday.

Chen, who writes under the pen name Ning Caishen, was arrested in an apartment in Chaoyang District on Tuesday after a tip-off that he had taken drugs, said the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau in a statement.

Police seized a small bag of crystal meth and drug paraphernalia from his desk drawer, it said, adding that his urine sample tested positive for crystal meth.

The 39-year-old confessed to police that he had been taking drugs since December and that he had consumed drugs just before the arrest.

During the police interrogation, Chen admitted his guilt, promised not to take drugs in the future and expressed deep remorse, said the statement.

"Drug taking is detrimental to both life and health. If I stop taking drugs, it will do me good in my future life," the statement quoted Chen as saying.

He was hailed as a leading figure in China's first generation of online writers and established himself in 2006 with popular martial arts comedy "My Own Swordsman."

Chen is also a regular guest on hit match-making reality show "If you are the one."

After Chen's drug scandal was exposed, Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation, the TV station that runs the reality show, said that Chen's contract with the program ended in May, and they have already signed another regular guest.