(Yicai Global) May 27 -- Beijing authorities have begun investigating the second third-party nucleic acid testing institution due to suspected violations within a week.

The probe targets Beijing-based Jinzhun Medical Examination Lab regarding suspected illegal behaviors during the process of testing, the municipal public security bureau said in a statement on Weibo today, without disclosing more details about the suspected violations.

Frequent quality control incidents can spark the public's distrust, which is not conducive to pandemic control and prevention, a person from a nucleic acid testing firm said to Yicai Global.

Mass testing in China relies on third-party institutions, said the industry insider. The government needs to strengthen its supervision of the whole Covid-19 testing service chain so that when problems arise, labs lose their qualifications and will be punished in accordance with the laws and rules, the person added.

The PSB's announcement follows another one on May 21 when the bureau said it has started investigating Pushi Medical Examination Lab on suspicion of hindering the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases which is a crime.

Founded in May 2019, Jinzhun is one of the qualified testing labs that passed municipal health authorities' review in April. Pushi, established in 2020, is another one, according to public information.

This is not the first time the two firms are in trouble. Jinzhun was fined CNY1,000 (USD149) in January as the institution was found to have been hiring technical personnel without the necessary medical qualifications.

Moreover, Pushi's operating license was revoked on May 20 after supervisors from a local health authority discovered that the lab had less raw testing data than released results. That suggests that some results had been issued without testing samples, according to market participants.

Some recent inspections at individual nucleic acid testing institutions have shown poor management as the labs have failed to send samples in a timely manner and their test reports have turned out to be inaccurate, Li Ang, spokesperson of the city's health bureau, said during a press conference on May 9. This has seriously affected the quality of testing and the effectiveness of Covid-19 prevention and control, Li added.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi