The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) released a list of 59 fake military medical institutions and research centers in its newspaper PLA Daily in Beijing Tuesday.

The 59 medical institutions or research centers, most of which carry advertisements on their websites under the PLA name and with their "medical experts" all attired in military suits, have ambiguous addresses and leave telephone numbers and e-mail addresses as the only means of contact.

However, nearly all the medical institutions say on their websites that effective prescriptions can be posted to patients.

If these "medical institutions" appear to be affiliated with PLA medical departments or hospitals, their sales improve, says Ren Guoquan, an official with the General Logistics Department of the PLA.

The "experts" in these "medical institutions" try to make patients believe in their miracle drugs. Their advertisements have even more weight if patients find they are "military medical organizations" located in Beijing, which is home to dozens of military hospitals, said Wang Xiaowei, an official with Beijing Drug Administration.

This is the second attempt by the PLA General Logistics Department to eradicate illegal military medical resources following the exposure of 16 illegal military medical organizations last July.

Source: Xinhua