A college professor in the city of Luoyang, Central China's Henan province, was fined only $159 for plagiarizing the work of a former undergraduate student at Beijing Sport University, the Zhengzhou-based Dahe Daily reported Tuesday.

Lu Di, a graduate student at Beijing Sport University, found an article published in their school academic journal that had 95 percent of the same content as her graduation thesis in 2010, the report said.

The two papers, side by side. [Photo/163.com]

The author of the published paper is a director and professor in the sports department of a college in Luoyang.

Lu filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement with the Luoyang Intermediate People's Court in 2011 and sought compensation of 100,000 yuan ($15,858).

The court determined Lu's thesis as copyrighted materials but fined the professor only $159, the report said.