Whistle-blower faces online backlash following freeloading controversy

A university professor is feeling a fierce backlash since he hit a colleague, a famous TV host, with accusations of freeloading.

Earlier this month, Qiao Mu, an associate professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), accused He Jiong of misusing public resources by drawing a salary without actually working at the university. He Jiong resigned from the university following Qiao's allegations.

Since then, Qiao has endured tons of abuse on social media. "I have received more than 8,000 private messages attacking me on microblog Sina Weibo," Qiao said.

When trolls made Qiao's telephone number and email address public he was deluged with abusive emails, text messages and phone calls which continue to this day.

Despite the backlash, Qiao has no regrets, but suggests that a third party should investigate the case.

"It is not OK to adopt double standard just because He is a celebrity," Qiao said.

According to Qiao, He received a salary from the university despite years of absence to pursue his entertainment career. He Jiong is one of China's most successful TV hosts. His career took off when he became the host of a weekly entertainment show Happy Camp on Hunan Satellite TV in 1997.

BFSU has denied Qiao's accusations amid massive media attention. In a statement released last week, the university said He was mainly assigned to PR work and other tasks since a 2007 staff reshuffle, and that He had returned all his salary for the 2007-2015 period.

The statement said He had voluntarily resigned his post and that the university welcomed media and public supervision. Endi