The Chinese government assigned a team to investigate search engine giant Baidu over the death of a college student last month who sought cancer treatment in a medical facility he found in Baidu.

Chinese netizens cried foul after a student identified as Wei Zexi died on April 12 after going through an experimental medical procedure that he only learned about because it topped Baidu's web search.

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Wei, 21, died of a rare soft tissue cancer called synovial sarcoma. Months before his death, Wei reportedly undergone four experimental and ineffective medical procedures at the Second Hospital of the Beijing Armed Police Corps. His family reportedly spent over 200,000 yuan.

Even before Wei was laid down to rest, he expressed rage over the hospital and Baidu.

"Baidu, we did not know how much evil it could do," state media quoted him as saying.

According to The Guardian, aside from netizen's anger, even the state-backed news agency People's Daily criticized Baidu for putting financial interest first before people's safety.

"There have been hospitals making profits at the cost of killing patients who were directed by false advertisements paid at a higher rank in search results," the newspaper said.

"With great power comes great responsibility... profit considerations shall not be placed over social responsibility."

The company, on the other hand, told BBC it is conducting its own investigation as well and extends its condolence to Wei Zexi's loved ones.

"Baidu strives to provide a safe and trustworthy search experience for our users, and has launched an immediate investigation of the matter. We deeply regret the death of Wei Zexi and our condolences go out to his family," the company said.

Baidu said on Tuesday that it will pay "particular vigilance" to its "healthcare vertical" and will "proactively clean up the customer base" to get rid of misleading promotions.

Tagschina, Internet, search engines, Baidu, Wei Zexi, web search