BEIJING, June 27 (Reuters) - A Chinese court has ordered a hospital and three pharmaceutical companies to pay 3.5 million yuan ($509,800) in compensation for a fake drug case which killed 14 people, state media said on Friday.

The patients died of kidney failure after being given the drug in a Guangzhou hospital made by a company in the northeastern city of Qiqihar, the official China Daily said.

Five employees of the drug firm have already been given jail sentences of up to seven years, it said.

The lawsuit was lodged by nine relatives of the victims and two former patients who fell ill after taking the drugs.

"Each plaintiff will receive between 7,100 yuan and 660,000 yuan. The range of payments reflects the individual circumstances of each and the degree to which the drug was found to have contributed to the victims' deaths or illness," the newspaper said, citing the court ruling.

"This is the highest compensation we could have achieved under the existing law," lawyer Chen Beiyuan was quoted as saying.

"I hope a more comprehensive safety law is introduced as soon as possible," Chen added.

China has been hit by a series of cases involving quality concerns over food, drugs and other products that have alarmed citizens and shaken global consumer confidence in "made in China" products.

The government has sought to restore confidence in the country's goods through a nationwide crackdown on the food and drug industry.

Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, was executed in July 2007 for taking bribes and dereliction of duty after a series of drug safety scandals under his watch. ($1=6.865 Yuan) (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)

AlertNet news is provided by