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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