Doctor Mung Bean Demolished

Earlier this week we had a post about the infamous Doctor Zhang Wuben, aka Doctor Mung Bean, who was found over the weekend to have faked his medical qualifications. The good doctor, well known in China for claiming a diet of mung beans, white radishes and eggplants could cure a range of diseases including cancer, was back in the headlines this morning. Following the reopening of Zhang’s clinic on Monday after the fraud accusations, the Global Times reports that his clinic in Chaoyang district is being torn down.

The article quotes an employee of the company which apparently leased the clinic’s site to Zhang; “This is an unapproved building and this temple-clinic doesn’t agree with its neighboring stadium. On Tuesday it was reported that Zhang’s clinic reopened because the Beijing Health Bureau found that he was not offering prescription drugs and only “offering diet consultation.”

Despite the allegations against Zhang, it seems that there is still no shortage of fools who will blindly follow his advice. One Beijing resident interviewed by the Global Times still decided to give the clinic a call on Monday. He said, "I went to the clinic to consult about a pain in my legs. I was told that Zhang's diets could cure cancer and Parkinson's disease."
Another woman interviewed in the article shows the extremes people will go to to find a magic cure. She said, “I didn't realize that he was a swindler until I saw you reporters… I suffer from high blood pressure and paid 2,000 yuan ($292.80) to seek therapy."

300 dollars? Perhaps she should consider another kind of therapy.