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BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Beijing will launch a crackdown on scalpers that camp out at the city's hospitals to book and resell appointments, authorities said Tuesday.
In a meeting on hospital offences and crimes, Beijing Police ordered hospitals to increase security and install surveillance cameras.
The police will respond to any complaints made by these medical institutions and handle any emergencies related to scalpers, said Liu Tao, deputy head of Beijing's Public Security Bureau.
Scalpers in hospitals snap up registration numbers, making booking appointments very difficult for the public.
In late January, a video shot at a Beijing hospital went viral in China.
In the video, a woman raged about the fact that appointments for specialists had been booked by scalpers, who were selling them for 4,500 yuan (688 U.S. dollars), 15 times higher than the original fee. In Chinese hospitals, patients often pay a fee to schedule medical appointments and are issued a number ticket upon booking.
Triggered by the video, hospitals in Beijing have taken measures, including a real-name system for appointments, but a number of scalpers have continued regardless.
