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 10 April to 7 May, Beijing Times consecutively published 76 negative reports totalling 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.