China's food and drug watchdog has busted 3,296 illegal medical equipment cases during the first half of this year.

The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) on Tuesday said that hundreds of illegal manufacturers and sellers had been identified and closed down. Hospitals, clinics and beauty salons using unlicensed devices have been fined or have had their license revoked.

The SFDA has imposed severe penalties on advertising scams concerning fake medical equipment. A total of 13,000 reports of illegal ads were spotted and 10 advertising firms have had their licenses suspended.

Also found were 265 websites posting false medical information. The SFDA have put their names online for public scrutiny.

The campaign, which started in early March, will last for 5 months and targets illegal manufacture, sales, publicity and use of illegal medical devices.