Ten victims of a problematic antibiotic injection that has caused 11 deaths throughout China, on Monday filed a civil lawsuit to the Shanghai Pudong District People's Court, asking compensation over 2.8 million yuan (US$357,896). The court didn't comment on the case being accepted or not, the Shanghai Morning Post reported on December 5.

A six-year-old girl Liu Sichen, from Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, died on July 27, becoming the first victim of the antibiotic known as clindamycin phosphate glucose injection. Known as Xinfu in Chinese, it was produced by Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co., a subsidiary of Shanghai Worldbest Co. Ltd. Her father Liu Yong filed the case against the above two companies and their parent company China Worldbest Group Co. Ltd, asking for compensation of 139,204 yuan (US$17,798), and for the accused to apologize through the media.

Attorney for the victims Chen Yongfei told the Shanghai Morning Post that Xinfu injections killed 11 people and that 421 others suffered from severe side-effects. Chen is representing the 10 victims in the case, including survivors and families members of that were killed, asking for compensation ranging from 40,000 (US$5112.8) to 1.3 million yuan (US$166,166), totaling 2.8 million yuan (US$357,896).

The State Food and Drug Administration has issued a nationwide ban on the injection and ordered the drug's maker, Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co., to recall all doses of Xinfu after it was found that a batch had been improperly sterilized.

The attorney for the companies, Li Hongqi, said the Worldbest Group was seeking compensation agreements with the victims but that no result had been reached. "Litigation is the right of the victims, we will respect their choice. We will obey what the court rules," Li said.

Liu Yong revealed that the company didn't even contact him after his daughter was killed by the injection of Xinfu.

Wang Guobiao, uncle of another victim Du Haipeng, told the Shanghai Morning Post that the company was contacted in October after the drug's status became known but he was blithely ignored and received no compensation. There was no comment on this from the Worldbest Group.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, December 6, 2006)