Nongfu Spring sues newspaper for defamation

Bottled waters of Nongfu Spring were seen on supermarket shelves. [Xinhua file photo]

China's press watchdog said Wednesday that it is looking into a case involving a newspaper's suspected defamation of a leading bottled water company.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and TV said it has accepted a "complaint" from Nongfu Spring Co. Ltd, which accused Beijing Times for maliciously publishing false, negative reports on the quality of its product.

From April 10 to May 7, Beijing Times consecutively published 76 negative reports totaling 67 pages, which seriously damaged the (reputation of) the company, according to a statement from Nongfu.

Nongfu claimed that the newspaper's reports lack factual basis, adding that the opinions of the administrative departments quoted in the reports were fabricated.