Baidu affirms hospital under Putian chain reliable

Chinese search giant Baidu said a plastic surgery hospital which reportedly belongs to the Putian hospital chain is reliable, amid concerns about the re- emergence of private hospitals under Putian brand half a year after a nationwide crackdown following the death of a 21- year- old college student.

“Certificates showing the qualification of the Beijing Mylike Aesthetic Plastic Hospital, including business license and the Practicing License of Medical Institution, are all available on the Internet,” Baidu told the Global Times in an email on Monday.

The Mylike plastic hospital tops the 8.08 million results returned by searches for “plastic surgery” and “plastic surgery loan” on Baidu, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Monday.

An employee form the hospital, surnamed Tang was cited by the Beijing Youth Daily as saying that the hospital was cooperating with a bank and promoting loans for plastic surgery

However, the Beijing Youth Daily later learned that the loan was offered by Baidu Finance instead of a traditional bank.

The report explained that the Mylike plastic surgery hospital belongs to the Putian chain – a hospital chain notorious for using false information in its advertisements which led to the death of the college student, Wei Zexi, in April.

Wei died of a rare form of cancer after he had received a clinically unproven treatment at a private biomedical center operated by the Putian chain at the Second Hospital of the Beijing Armed Police Force.