Chinese journalist, detained over "suspicion of damaging business reputation" of a leading engineering firm, has reportedly confessed to writing unverified and untrue reports and apologised, a media report said today.

Chen Yongzhou, 27, a journalist with the New Express based in the southern city of Guangzhou, confessed to police for continuously releasing a series of unverified and false reports against Zoomlion at the request of others for "money and fame", state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Chen fabricated facts and wrote 14 reports out of 18 published by the Express from September 29 last year till August 8 this year about Zoomlion's "financial problems" based on supplied materials, without verification, bringing huge losses to the company and its share prices, Xinhua quoted police officials as saying.

Chen was arrested on October 18 in Guangzhou from Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province where Zoomlion is based. Chen would like to apologise to Zoomlion, the stock investors and his own family members, and warned his peers to "learn a lesson" from his experience, the police said

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