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Wei
Zexi, 21, died last month of a rare form of cancer.
He had searched Baidu for the best place for treatment, finding
a department under the Second Hospital of Beijing Armed Police
Corps which offered an experimental treatment that ultimately
failed, according to state media.
Before dying, Wei accused Baidu online of promoting false
medical information, as well as the hospital for misleading
advertising in claiming a high success rate for the treatment,
state radio said.
"Wei's family says they trusted the treatment because it was
promoted by one of the military hospitals which are considered
credible, and the attending doctor had appeared on many
mainstream media platforms," state radio said.
The regulator said in a short statement that Wei's case had
attracted widespread attention on the Internet. It said it would
investigate Baidu, the health ministry and State Administration
for Industry and Commerce, and "handle it in accordance with the
law." The regulator said it would make its findings public.
Baidu said in a statement it deeply regretted Wei's death and
sent condolences to his family. The company added it welcomed
the investigation and would fully cooperate.
"Baidu strives to provide a safe and trustworthy search
experience for our users, and have launched an immediate
investigation of the matter," the company said.
Baidu shares hit a session low of $176.50, before trading down
7.9 percent at $179.95 on heavy volume at mid-morning.
Chinese Internet portal Sina, citing unidentified sources within
Baidu, said the regulator had also asked to speak to Baidu's
chief executive, Robin Li, although it was not clear what the
subject might be.
A Baidu spokeswoman said the company had no additional comment.
The hospital could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, Baidu was criticized for selling management
rights for a hemophilia online forum to an unlicensed private
hospital, which used the platform for self-promotion and deleted
comments that challenged its credentials, the official Xinhua
news agency said.
In 2010, China's state-run television accused Baidu of promoting
counterfeit drugs through its search engine.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Louise Ireland and
Richard Chang)
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