Beijing Times
December 3, 2008

In May, the People's Supreme Court issued a judicial explanation stating that "illegal doctors" will be warned twice before finally being charged with a criminal offense. The latest effort in a long-running crackdown on illegal clinics, the campaign has finally generated a high-profile arrest.

Today's Beijing Times reports that Yu Hefeng, a dentist, was detained by police yesterday in Haidian District. Yu is reportedly the first "recalcitrant quack" arrested since the judicial explanation was issued.

Yu is from Jiangxi Province and has been practicing in Beijing for over a year. The police had previously visited her, but she was caught totally off guard when the police clapped her in handcuffs this time. The article reports:

Yu looked bewildered and asked the police, "What crime have I committed?" The neighbors were astonished, too: "You've come out to check on her before, but you never put handcuffs on her."

Yu was taken away by the police, leaving her patient behind in mid-check-up. The patient, Mr. Ding, told the police that he was fully aware of what kind of service Yu could deliver, but he just didn't have enough money for a big hospital.

To justify the arrest, the article points out that Yu only finished her elementary school and couldn't even write her own name. Also, with blood stains on the walls, Yu's clinic is unlikely to meet safety requirements.

It quotes a government official who explained how the new explanation is going to help solve the problem. For a long time, law enforcement was limited to inspection, warnings, and forced shut-downs when dealing with unlicensed doctors, but now there's a legal basis for jailing quacks.

Also:

● Eleven female students in an elementary school in Dingbian County, Shaanxi Province, were found dead yesterday morning in their shared dormitory. Carbon monoxide poisoning was to blame. The students used a coal stove for heating in the dormitory. Six members of the school administration, including the school principal, are now under police custody.

● Starting next year, Beijing will provide a one-thousand-yuan subsidy to disabled children in the city. Disabled children under seven years old will receive free recovery treatment.