Two more detained over deadly diabetes drug

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-05 19:09

SHENYANG -- Two people have been detained in Liaoning Province in connection with the sale of a fake diabetes drug that killed two patients and left nine others in the hospital, provincial authorities said Thursday.

Undated file photo shows the counterfeit diabetes drug that last month killed two in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Two people have been detained in northest China's Liaoning Province in connection with the sale of the fake diabetes drug, provincial authorities said Thursday.[cnr.cn]

Chinese police earlier said that five other suspects had been arrested in Xinjiang in connection with the case, and an arrest warrant had also been issued for the prime suspect.

The drug, sold under the brand "Tang Zhi Ning Jiao Nang," was found to contain six times the normal dose of glibenclamide, which is used to help lower blood sugar. Two patients died after taking the fake drug in the far western region of Xinjiang.

Li Bing, one of the suspects, was taken into custody by police in Chaoyang City, where the authorities confiscated 1,025 bottles of the drug. Local police are investigating the source of the deadly medicine.

Wang Peng, an employee of a drug company, was detained Sunday in Shenyang, the provincial capital, allegedly for involvement in the sale of 345 bottles of the same drug. Police seized another 30 bottles from his home.

Wang told police he bought the fake drug from a man named Li Dong.

The Ministry of Public Security issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Li Dong, described by the ministry as the chief suspect. He was identified as Li Bing's brother.

Besides Liaoning and Xinjiang, the fake drug has also shown up in southwestern Sichuan Province. However, no one has been found to have fallen ill after taking the drug outside Xinjiang.

Authorities have said initial investigations showed that the drug was not produced in Xinjiang, but they have so far failed to find its source.