BEIJING - A DIABETES drug linked to two deaths in far western China has been found on store shelves in two other provinces, though no new illnesses have been reported, state media said on Thursday.

The medicine, called 'Tang Zhi Ning Jiao Nang,' contained six times the normal amount of a chemical ingredient used to lower blood sugar, and is believed to have been distributed at many places across the country, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The case highlights China's shoddy record in food and drug safety. In the most recent scandal to rock the country, at least six babies died and nearly 300,000 were sickened by infant formula contaminated with an industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and kidney failure.

Xinhua said authorities have ordered the arrest of the main suspect involved in the sale of the drug, Li Dong, a native of northeastern China's Liaoning province. Li is still at large.

Investigators found 4,800 bottles in western China's Qinghai province, and 215 bottles in southwestern Sichuan province, according to China National Radio and government Web site china.com.cn. Most of the medicine has been recovered by authorities.

The diabetes drug killed two people in the far western Xinjiang region last month and sent nine others to the hospital.

Authorities found 10,000 bottles of the medicine and arrested five suspects in Xinjiang, Xinhua said. One man was found selling the drug from a rented house, where he gave free lectures and performed blood sugar tests. -- AP