(Yicai Global) Jan. 10 -- Shares in Aier Eye Hospital Group tumbled as much as 6 percent today after the Chinese opthalmology hospital operator was accused of paying backhanders to those who refer patients to its hospitals.

Aier Eye’s share price [SHE:300015] was trading down 3.82 percent at CNY37.25 (USD5.84) as of 2 p.m. China time today. Earlier in the day it had sunk to CNY36.40, a 16-month low.

Some CNY785,500 (USD123,233) was paid to people who introduced over 500 patients to Aier Eye’s clinic in Suqian, southeastern Jiangsu province between 2017 and 2019, according to outspoken doctor Ai Fen, one of the first to warn the public of the risks of Covid-19 back in 2020. Ai posted several lists of names and amounts paid on her microblogging Weibo recently, which she said were given to her by an employee who has left the firm.

Most of those receiving the kickbacks are doctors and employees from other hospitals, said Ai, who suffered a detached retina after having cataract surgery at Aier Eye’s Wuhan hospital last year, leaving her nearly blind in her right eye.

The hospital dealt with the kickback issue in 2019 by punishing those who were involved and replacing managers, the Suqian hospital said yesterday.

Changsha, central Hunan province-based Aier Eye runs 720 eye hospitals worldwide, of which 611 are on the mainland. It had over 10 million outpatient visits on the mainland in 2020 and more than one million surgeries.

Editor: Kim Taylor