Four people have been detained for allegedly being involved in an attack on Fang Zhouzi, a well-known "science cop", Beijing police said on Tuesday.

The police said Xiao Chuanguo, director of surgery at a hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, masterminded the attack after concluding that an accusation by Fang over academic misconduct led to his failure to become a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Xiao allegedly hired three men to assault Fang on Aug 29. Fang was slightly injured in the incident, according to police, who are investigating the case.