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Blood centre sues newspaper over report it spread virus
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-29 10:39
A blood collection centre in Hebei is suing a newspaper for defamation after
a report accused it of spreading HIV.
The Xingtai Blood Centre, represented by boss Jia Yangli , said the report on
November 29 was false and had had a serious effect on the centre's reputation,
bringing "a certain level of chaos to the social order", according to a copy of
the writ.
It is asking Qiaoxi District People's Court to "stop the defendant from
tarnishing the reputation of the plaintiff" and to "restore its reputation and
eliminate its impact nationwide".
It wants the newspaper to apologise and pay all the legal costs.
The hearing, originally scheduled to start today, has been postponed to May
9, in Qiaoxi District People's Court, Xingtai. The delay came after the
defendant, the China Pharmaceutical News, requested more time to prepare its
case, the South China Morning Post has learned.
The centre said the article, which covered the sale and alleged mismanagement
of blood in Xingtai, alleged that its blood products were tainted with HIV.
It also said the report twisted the facts surrounding the treatment of staff
member Li Qianji , and said he had not been punished for leaking details of the
alleged HIV scare. The centre said Mr Li was being retrained and had not been
sidelined as alleged.
The centre also denied any link to an assault on a female reporter working at
another mainland newspaper, the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily.
The China Pharmaceutical News report prompted the Ministry of Health to order
the Hebei provincial health bureau to investigate blood supplies in Xingtai in
December and January.
A notice issued on February 23 by Hebei provincial health bureau to the city
health bureau did not directly confirm the report, but it did ask it to increase
the supervision of blood supplies and strengthen its crackdown on illegal blood
sales.
"Execute supervision work on HIV/Aids, pay special attention to people who
have previous blood records from 1995 to 1997, and strengthen investigations
into HIV carriers' epidemiology," the notice read.
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