Baidu probed

    China’s Internet watchdog has set up a task force to investigate the country’s biggest search engine Baidu, amid mounting criticism over its prominent placement* of sponsored health-care service providers in its search results.

    The controversy arose after a young man sought treatment for his cancer and later died after receiving care at a hospital he had found on top of his Baidu search. Cyberspace Administration officials, alongside health authorities and officials from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, will look into the allegation and whether the practice is legal.

    Murder convict freed

    A man sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend 18 years ago has been acquitted*, the latest wrongful conviction overturned in the country.

    Liu Jiqiang, 52, was found guilty of strangling* and stabbing his lover on February 14, 1998, earning him the notorious nickname “Valentine’s Day killer” in the Chinese press. However, after spending nearly two decades on death row, the Higher People’s Court of Northeast China’s Jilin Province dismissed his conviction citing insufficient evidence, the court said on Friday.

    Telecom fraud suspects

    Malaysian police repatriated* 97 telecom fraud suspects, including 32 from Taiwan, to the Chinese mainland on Saturday.

    The 97 arrived in Guangzhou around 8 p.m., all shackled* and wearing black hoods. In late March, Malaysian and Chinese mainland police cooperated in an investigation into five transnational telecommunications fraud cases involving victims from across the mainland, and arrested a total of 117 Chinese suspects, including 65 from the mainland and 52 from Taiwan.

    Overseas NGO law

    Overseas NGOs will have to get approval from Chinese authorities before they operate on the Chinese mainland, under a law adopted by China’s top legislature on Thursday.

    This applies whether they are planning to open permanent offices or just operate here temporarily, according to the law, adopted through a vote at the session of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.

    (SD-Agencies)