Owners renting to clinics face fines

Local health authorities said they will team up with city's housing management bureau in an effort to dissuade landlords from renting their properties to people who run an illegal clinic or other unlicensed medical practice.

Property owners who keep renting their spaces to people who open clinics despite being warned will face a fine of up to 30,000 yuan (US$4,839), officials from the Shanghai Health Supervision Agency said yesterday.

The city had shut down 1,234 illegal clinics by July this year, confiscating 319,407 yuan in illegal income and fining 3.57 million yuan.

About 1,485 packs of medicine and 16,058 medical appliances were also confiscated by the authorities after the raids.

A total of 116 cases were transferred to local police and legal charges were brought against 56 people, officials said yesterday.

Most illegal clinics offer cosmetic service, illegal check on fetus' gender and illegal abortion.

"As illegal clinics usually hide in residential complex, we decided to cooperate with local housing management authority to alert home owners not to rent out their apartments for such illegal purposes.

"Those renting houses for illegal health practice despite being warned by the authorities will be punished," said Li Lida, vice director of Shanghai Health Supervision Agency.

The agency is also campaigning against the practice of hiring scalpers to lure patients from hospitals to small clinics or illegal clinics and selling them "effective medicine" at a higher price.

Four facilities like Shanghai Jindian Hospital, Shanghai Ruihong Clinic, Shanghai Haikang Clinic and Shanghai Shengcao Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic were penalized for hiring scalpers. Shengcao's license was also taken away.

One illegal clinic in Zhabei District was shut down in July for hiring scalpers.

The agency said it will also tighten measures against illegal medical advertisements, and crack down on beauty parlors that promote invasive cosmetic service, which is banned under law.