Leniency from China court in Dying to Survive cancer drug case
- Suspended sentence for man whose arrest for selling overseas medication to cancer patients sparked public outcry
- Zhai Yiping was charged two weeks after release of film with similar plot highlighted expense of life-saving drugs
A man who bought cancer medication from Germany to sell to patients in mainland China has received a suspended jail sentence from a Shanghai court in a case that echoes the plot of last year’s box office hit Dying to Survive.
Zhai Yiping, 47, was given a relatively light sentence of three years in prison, suspended for three years, for illegally doing business, online news portal Thepaper.cn reported on Monday.
Zhai’s arrest in July last year led to a public outcry and, ultimately, a change in the law. More than 100 patients wrote to the court pleading for mercy for Zhai, who was charged just two weeks after Dying to Survive – based on the true story of a leukaemia patient who smuggled generic drugs from India for himself and others – made its debut in Chinese cinemas.
Dubbed China’s Dallas Buyers Club, the film, which earned rave reviews and made US$200 million in its opening weekend, struck a chord in China where cancer treatments are unaffordable for many. Weeks after its release, Premier Li Keqiang weighed in, urging regulators to “speed up price cuts for cancer drugs” and “reduce the burden on families”.
Zhai was originally charged with selling fake drugs. The drugs were genuine, but deemed fake on a technicality under Chinese law as they had not been approved for use in China.