A researcher who is behind bars for corruption and misuse of research funds is proof that a new system is urgently needed to distribute such funds, an expert warned.

Duan Zhenhao, 53, from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, was nominated as a candidate academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of China's leading scientific research institutes, in May 2011.

But his wife posted several reports online that said Duan had used government research funds to pay for his travel and other expenses and had had extramarital affairs since June 29, 2011. The supervision and auditing department of the institution he worked at subsequently investigated his projects.