In China, sometimes, a patient's life depends on how much cash he has.

Xiang Tao, a teenage university student in the southwestern province of Sichuan was left to die at a local hospital because he couldn't pay the medical bills up front, the Xinhua News Agency reported on September 18.

Xiang was stabbed in the lower abdomen when he, and three of his classmates, were attacked by anonymous assailants, according to Xinhua. according to Xinhua.

Xiang was taken to Chengdu Railway Central Hospital in critical condition immediately, but the hospital wouldn't operate on him unless he paid the medical bills up front, Xinhua said.

According to Xinhua, near Xiang there were two nurses chatting, a doctor writing and another smoking.

"Xiang fell from a one-meter-high stretcher when being carried to an ambulance," witness Xiao Cai told the official news agency. "After reaching the hospital, Xiang was not getting immediate treatment by emergency doctors, instead, he was being asked to pay 2,000 RMB in treatment fees up front."

Xiao said a nurse commented that it was "nothing serious. It's a trivial wound."

"We just had 200 yuan (US$25) left. We had no choice but to beg the doctor to operate on Xiang. Twenty five-minutes passed before one of the doctors agreed to operate with only 200 yuan in payment up front," said Xiao.

Xiao said on their way to surgery, blood spurted up from a blood vessel but a nurse did not treat the bleeding.

The hospital confirmed Xiao's story, but added that the bleeding was caused by the patient who was critically wounded.

"Xiang's breathing was getting hurried after we reached the ninth floor. We paid the180 yuan transfusion fee and 120 yuan ambulance fee, but they still wouldn't operate," Xiao said.

After 20 minutes on the ninth floor but still no operation, Xiao again told the nurse that Xiang didn't feel well and begged medical staff to treat him, according to Xinhua.

But Xiao's appeal was refused again.

"Are you the doctor, or am I the doctor? Wait patiently," a male doctor allegedly told Xiao.

Yi Zhiyong, head of public relations at the hospital, refuted Xiao's claims, and added that the principle for the hospital is to save lives first. Yi said the patient was admitted to the emergency department at 11: 50 pm and then to surgical ward. He was put under anesthesia at about 00:30 am and was pronounced dead at the 01:45 am. The hospital claims Xiang died of internal hemorrhage.

The result of an online poll conducted by sina.com shows that 47.5 per cent of respondents support the hospital's decision, saying it is not responsible for paying medical fees.

"But 45 per cent disagreed, saying that saving lives is the hospital's first responsibility. Leaving patients to die shows irresponsibility.

Hospital political assistant Zhang Changhong said the hospital was near a railway station where it lacked security.. "We will receive several patients with traumas every day."

"We have ten or twenty emergencies a night, and we don't have enough money," Zhang told Xinhua.

Media reports are flooded with stories of patients that have been left to die at hospitals.

On June 24, 2005, a man was found lying on the ground in a market in Xi'an but was pronounced dead after the ambulance arrived. The late treatment was blamed for the death, media reports said.

Zheng KengDi, a villager from the southern province of Fujian died three hours after failing to receive much-needed blood because he couldn't pay the 100 yuan fee.