Beijing police bust gang scalping hospital appointments

Beijing police have announced the arrests of 29 people for scalping outpatient appointments in a popular hospital.

They followed reports from members of the public to investigate a gang of scalpers in the Air Force General Hospital, according to a statement from police in Haidian District on Sunday.

The scalpers obtained appointments online for between seven and 14 yuan (about one and two U.S. dollars) each, and sold them at 100 yuan or more, making thousands of yuan in profits, according to the statement.

The 29 people were arrested on Feb. 28 in the provinces and municipalities of Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Fujian, Hubei, Shandong and Liaoning.

Fourteen of them are still being held under criminal law. One of them has been released on bail, another four are under custody by security guards and 10 others have been warned.

Beijing police launched a special operation following a viral video in January that showed a furious women at a hospital blaming scalpers for her failure to get a ticket.

Well-equipped hospitals in Beijing attract patients from nationwide, which leads to overcrowding and increases the difficulty of getting an appointment. Ticket scalping is a major problem for hospitals.