Nine children who suffered from an inherited blood disorder in southern China died after being injected with faulty drugs recommended by the same doctor, state media reported on Wednesday.
At least nine children in Guangdong province who suffered from thalassaemia died between 2004 and 2005 after being treated by Doctor Zhu Weiguo, according to an investigative report by China Central Television.
Zhu carried out bone marrow transplants on about 15 children during that period, and told parents they should buy several expensive drugs, from a pharmaceutical salesman he had designated, for further treatment, CCTV's website reported.
Zhu charged the parents between 140,000 and 900,000 yuan (17,500 and 112,500 dollars) for the operations.
Many children suffered major problems, such as vomiting blood, due to the injection of the drugs following the operation, the report said. The drugs cost up to 4,500 yuan per dose.
The doctor was suspended and the pharmaceutical salesman arrested after parents repeatedly complained to the provincial health bureau, it said.
The report did not explain how the drugs were faulty.
China's poorly regulated pharmaceutical industry has frequently been in the spotlight for making and distributing dangerous products that have done more harm than good.
This year, a faulty antibiotic killed six people, while several Chinese patients also died after taking a counterfeit drug meant to treat gallstones and gastritis.