Publication: Sunday Times Issued: Date: 2007-05-20 Reporter: Jocelyn Maker Reporter: Megan Power

Dr Chippy Fake!

 

Publication 

Sunday Times

Date

2007-05-20

Reporter

 Jocelyn Maker, Megan Power

Web Link

www.sundaytimes.co.za

 

Doctor who? Chippy Shaik, whose engineering degree has been exposed as plagiarised.

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Chippy Shaik
Picture: Raymond Preston

‘Certain academics have abused the university to engage in illicit, disgraceful and dishonest activities’

EXPOSED: How Shaik brother cheated to get his engineering doctorate

Chippy Shaik has for four years laid claim to a bogus doctorate that he and a cabal of internationally acclaimed South African professors fraudulently concocted.

An extensive Sunday Times investigation has found that Shaik’s 2003 PhD in mechanical engineering from the then University of Natal was plagiarised. More than two-thirds was regurgitated from journal papers of other authors without citation or acknowledgement.

This exposé comes on the eve of a petition by his convicted fraudster brother, Schabir, to the Constitutional Court to get out of jail early.

Chippy now risks his doctorate being revoked, and the academics who supervised his thesis ­ Professor Viktor Verijenko, head of the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and his colleague, Professor Sarp Adali ­ face being fired.

In a confidential communiqué dated May 16 and sent to the university senate on Friday, acting vice-chancellor Professor Isobel Konyn said she regretted that the integrity of a UKZN degree had again been called into question.

“This was brought to our attention by an outside agency. The university has conducted its own investigations and the allegations have foundation. An investigation of the matter has been instituted within the university and senators will be kept informed.”

Shaik, the government’s former procurement chief, played a key role in sourcing suppliers for the country’s controversial R65-billion arms deal.

German authorities are investigating allegations that he was paid a R21-million bribe by the German arms manufacturer ThyssenKrupp.

Some of the biggest research projects that Verijenko headed at UKZN involved the former Kentron, a division of Denel, as well as Armscor, Spoornet and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research mining and defence programmes.

Shaik was best man at Verijenko’s wedding in Durban five years ago and the relationship between the two men has been described as a mutually beneficial one.

Responding on behalf of Shaik yesterday, his brother, lawyer Yunus Shaik, described the plagiarism claim as “wild” and “fanciful”.

“As we enter the doors of the Constitutional Court, an attempt is made to malign the integrity of the Shaik brothers, and is a crude attempt to poison the atmosphere.

“In the field of science the concept of ‘unaided work’ is blurred by the fact that all knowledge is acquired, progressively, over time, and each scientist stands on the shoulders of those who went before,” he said.

He said that what mattered was the judgment of his brother’s supervisors and examiners as to whether he should be awarded the doctorate.

The Sunday Times has established that Professor Theodore Tauchert from the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky in the US, who had participated in research collaborations with Verijenko, was an external examiner on the thesis.

He and Professor Pavel Tabakov of the Durban University of Technology (DUT), who is thanked by Shaik at the beginning of his thesis for his “assistance”, will be questioned on their roles.

Ukrainian-born Tabakov said yesterday he was upset to hear Shaik had plagiarised other people’s work, including his own.

“But I cannot comment further until I’ve had a chance to study the thesis,” said Tabakov, a former research associate at the then University of Natal and now associate director of the DUT’s mechanical engineering department.

A study of Shaik’s 217-page thesis, on the formulation of an advanced theory to calculate the bending of composite structures due to mechanical stress and heat, has also revealed:


UKZN vice-chancellor and principal Professor Malegapuru Makgoba said late yesterday he was “outraged”.

“I am livid that certain academics have abused the privileged space of the university and taxpayers’ money to engage in what are clearly illicit, disgraceful and dishonest activities that have tainted again the integrity and quality of our degrees,” he said.

Makgoba said he would “clean up this degree mess without fear ... or favour” to protect the reputation of the university’s many committed academics.

“The university has robust processes that it will follow to get to the bottom of this matter. Those responsible will face a ‘firing squad’.”

This week, the university sent both Sent Verijenko, the primary supervisor, and Adali, who acted as both co-supervisor and internal examiner, lawyer’s letters indicating they face disciplinary action.

Verijenko, who left South Africa in March for a year-long sabbatical in Australia, has sold his Porsche and luxury apartment in Umhlanga Rocks. He left within weeks of Chippy, whose departure from South Africa sparked speculation he had fled the country.

Verijenko, also represented by Yunis Shaik, said yesterday that Shaik’s research was highly specialised and required a great deal of background knowledge.

“Only those who worked on the thesis are able to assess the quality and the authenticity thereof,” he said.

He also said the internal and external examiners were all internationally recognised scientists in the field and only they could assess if the work was plagiarised.

It has emerged that Verijenko will also be prosecuted in connection with financial irregularities related to a Spoornet contract involving UKZN and his private company, Veriytech. Adali faces related charges.

Verijenko said the Spoornet project had nothing to do with Shaik.

“The project was done under my supervision in co-operation with the university. The technology developed is considered to be ‘breakthrough’ and its value estimated to be several billions of rands.”

Verijenko said his company had paid the university R1-million but there was a dispute over ownership of the intellectual property.

He denied knowledge of any university investigation against him.

A Dr Shamin Shaik, with the same identity number as Chippy, flew to Singapore on March 11 this year. The Sunday Times has established that Shaik, who is in possession of three active passports, has not returned to South Africa on the passport he used to leave.

On Friday Yunus said Chippy’s whereabouts was a private matter. He later said Chippy was having lunch with his sister in Durban.

With acknowledgement to Jocelyn Maker, Megan Power and Sunday Times.


Dr Chippy Fake!
EXPOSED: How Shaik brother cheated to get his engineering doctorate