An attack on a popular Chinese science writer known for exposing academic fraud has caused an uproar online.

Fang Zhouzi [file photo]

Fang Zhouzi told police he was attacked by two men on a Beijing street at about 5 p.m. Sunday, after he had finished a television interview near his home, the Shijingshan branch of the Beijing police said in a statement.

One attacker sprayed a pungent liquid into Fang's face while the other hit his waist with a hammer, Fang said.

Fang's wife wrote on behalf of Fang on his microblog at 6:19 p.m. Sunday that Fang had been ambushed by two gangsters. Fang suffered slight injuries and returned home the same night.

Fang posted his account of the attack on his blog at 1:13 a.m. Monday. By 3:40 p.m., it has been read more than 128,000 times.

An online survey by Sina.com, a Chinese web portal, showed that of its 39,123 respondents, as of 4:30 p.m., 35,931 people, or 92 percent, support Fang's anti-fraud efforts.

"Fang is a lone fighter against academic fraud and we should give him our full support," said one posting by "Eren."

Another netizen with the handle "U you 14724066" said, "I will closely follow the case and I hope Beijing police can catch the perpetrators."

But some disagree with some of Fang's ideas, such as his dismissal of traditional Chinese medicine.

"Fang got what he deserves. I was outraged when he said our traditional medicine was pseudo-science," said a posting by "Zhizhu."