JAPANESE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER TO FILE LIBEL CHARGES - HEALTH MINISTER

ZAGREB, Aug 11 (Hina) - Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Andrija Hebrang has said the Japanese medical equipment manufacturer Shimatzu notified him on Tuesday it would file libel charges due to false claims that in recent months the company landed a series of deals in Croatia due to its director's friendly ties with Hebrang. Hebrang made the claim on Tuesday evening in a national television programme in which former Health Minister Andro Vlahusic remarked that Hebrang should worry about the fact that Shimatzu, which is managed by his friend Goran Tomac's son, had landed 14 of 15 bid invitations even though, according to Vlahusic, "it isn't among top-line medical equipment manufacturers". "Shimatzu is a good company, the most represented in Central Europe and 30 percent cheaper than others, and irreparable damage has been done to it," Hebrang said, adding that those who wished to return to the former practice of purchasing equipment without inviting bids were causing scandals. Hebrang said the Shimatzu case had blown into an international scandal after incorrect press allegations that he had arranged bid invitations for the purchase of medical equipment for hospitals in Bosnia-Herzegovina.