A Chinese farmer has won a more than three-year-long lawsuit against a local hospital in Shahe City, north China's Hebei Province, for transfusing AIDS virus-contaminated blood that led to the death of his wife and his daughter's contracting of the AIDS virus.

Wang Weijun, a native of Yicheng Town of Wu'an City, and his seven-year-old daughter were paid 362,000 yuan (43,700 US dollars) in compensation, according to the verdict of the Hebei Provincial Higher People's Court, which was made public Wednesday.

The court found that Jin Shuangying, Wang's wife, was admitted into Kangtai Hospital of Shahe City on July 30, 1997 and gave birth to a baby girl on Aug. 1.

As Jin suffered hemorrhaging while giving birth, the hospital transfused 400 ml of blood into her body on Aug. 4. Not long after the delivery, Jin was found to have early symptoms of AIDS.

The Ditan Hospital in Beijing diagnosed Jin with the AIDS virus in April 1999. She died at home on May 16 the same year. Her daughter also was diagnosed with the AIDS virus.

By then, Wang suspected that his wife's contracting of AIDS had something to do with the blood transfusion in Kangtai Hospital.

He lodged a lawsuit against the hospital in August of 2000, and the Intermediate People's Court of Xingtai City ruled at its first trial that the hospital pay 362,000 yuan to Wang and his daughter in compensation on Oct. 15, 2001.

Both Wang, dissatisfied with the compensation amount, and the hospital, denying its responsibility, appealed to the provincial higher people's court, which rejected the verdict of the first trial and urged the Intermediate People's Court of Xingtai to retry the case.

The case was heard for the second time by the Xingtai court on Sept. 23, 2003. The court held that facts showed clearly that the hospital had collected blood in violation of safety regulations and that Jin Shuangying died of AIDS. The court decided according to law that the hospital pay Wang 362,000 yuan in compensation.

Wang and the hospital again appealed to the Hebei Provincial Higher People's Court, which held a public hearing in February this year. The court rejected their appeals in the final trial on April 29, and maintained the judgment of the Xingtai Intermediate People's Court.
 
(Xinhua News  Agency  May 13, 2004)