The anti-graft campaign moves into academia

When asked "did you ever have sex with prostitutes," Pan Suiming always said that even if he told you, you wouldn't believe him.

After decades of research into the sex industry, Professor Pan got in trouble for the first time, but not for soliciting prostitutes - for embezzlement.

Pan, 64, founder and director of the Institute of Sexuality and Gender at the Renmin University of China, conducted in-depth investigations into China's sex industry. Pan's research was based on meeting with prostitutes and pretending to be a customer to gain access to their world. From 1998 to 2010, Pan and his team conducted qualitative research into 23 "red light districts" in China, interviewing 1,132 prostitutes, 239 madams or pimps and 212 "johns," reported the Xinhua News Agency.

A recent announcement from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) said that Pan had also been researching the prevention of major infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis.

The statement from the MST did not reveal any further details of Pan's wrongdoings, while media reports claimed that his punishment, a demotion, was due to "unclear use of scientific research funds."

As the nationwide anti-corruption campaign sweeps from government bodies to academia, Pan has not been the only one punished for academic embezzlement.

Another six professors from four renowned universities have also faced punishment, including Song Maoqiang, a professor at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Chen Yingxu, a professor at Zhejiang University, who were sentenced to 10 and a half years and 10 years imprisonment respectively, according to the MST statement.

The management and use of research funds has become key area of investigation into academic corruption. Analysts have claimed that China's research fund management system is too loose and lacks effective regulation. However, Pan's case seems to bring these claims into doubt.

Reaching out to money

During the MST's investigation into academic misconduct, it was found that some academics were spending research funds on irrelevant expenditures and that many were forging signatures and using phony invoices to withdraw funds, according to the announcement.

Producing phony invoices and transferring research funds to his own company allowed Li Ning, a professor at the China Agricultural University and academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, to embezzle 20 million yuan ($3 million).

The Supreme People's Procuratorate confirmed that Li was approved to be detained under suspicion of corruption in June.

Other methods that are often used by academics to embezzle research funds include taking commissions, signing fake contracts and taking advantage of administrative staff's loose management of academic projects.

"Professors usually have to figure out how to spend the money available to them and so some buy fake invoices. Some teachers would get hold of extra money by increasing the amount reported in invoices or buying equipment for the universities and taking kickbacks from salesmen," a graduate student majoring in machine manufacturing and automation told the Global Times on condition of anonymity.

Invoices dispute

It was invoices that ended up causing Pan's downfall, as some of his research money was used to pay the prostitutes he interviewed for his studies. The lack of authentic invoices led to him being charged with "misuse of funds," an anonymous source close to Pan's case told the Global Times.

According to regulations about academics applying for research funds, professors who conduct social investigations should employ a professional research company and sign a contract with the company. This could have been a barrier for Pan who conducted research by himself, according to the news portal news.qq.com.

"Pan could not get invoices from the prostitutes he interviewed. If he instead submitted invoices for food and beverages, he would have broken the regulations," a faculty member surnamed Chu from Beihang University told the Global Times.

Chu claimed that the management of research funds should be more flexible. "We usually need to go through very complicated procedures even if we are only trying to rent a conference room."

"In our institute, every bit of expenditure requires a signature and a copy for future review. The management of research funds has become much more rigorous," said an engineer surnamed Zhang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Liu Junhai, a law professor at the Renmin University of China added that the "management of research funds should be focused on examining the results of scientific research instead of strictly restricting expenditure."

However, Chen Mei, an associate professor from Chongqing University said that scholars should strictly comply with regulations on using research funds. "Once they obtain a research topic and sign the contract, they should obey the rules."

System loopholes

Other loopholes in the regulations regarding research funds have been spotted. An anonymous staff member working in the finance department of a university in Beijing told the Global Times that it is hard for universities to supervise and administer expenditure in research projects such as fees for outsourcing or employing staff.

"For example, some scholars transfer money to companies outside the school and then transfer that money to their own companies, like Li did," said the staff member.

Some teachers use the ID numbers of people uninvolved in the project to defraud the university by paying them wages despite them not actually working on any research project, the staff member added.

"After what happened to Pan, many professors criticized the strict and rigid management of research funds. However, when corruption and embezzlement cases abound, people call for stricter regulations to curb academic corruption, that seems to be a paradox," Xiong Bingqi, vice dean of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, told the Global Times.

The way to solve the problem lis to take research fund management out of the hands of bureaucrats. The current salary system for professors means that their bonuses and allowances are obtained by applying for research subjects, according to Xiong.

"Money set aside for research should be separated from professors' salaries in case some try to earn more money by applying for as many research projects as they can instead of focusing on their scientific research," Xiong said. He added that the financial management of research institutes and universities should be transparent and the financial details of academic bodies that are not related to national security should be open to the public.