A five-month-old baby died in a hospital amid pleas for help from his parents while his doctor played computer games in eastern China, health authorities said today.

An investigation found that Dr Mao Xiaojun was playing an online game during a night shift and did not take the parents' pleas seriously, the Jiangsu province health department said in a statement.

"When efforts were being made to save the baby, the mother got on her knees in the doorway of the ear, nose and throat department and pleaded for help," the statement said.

The baby died the next morning, 4 November, from complications caused by an eye infection, the statement said. Officials at the state-run Nanjing children's hospital could not be reached for comment.

The statement said Mao "covered up the truth" in an initial investigation. But more probing found that she had been playing a game called Go on an instant messaging system, the statement said.

Mao was stripped of her medical licence and fired, and the hospital head and several staffers were disciplined.

The health department looked into the infant's death after complaints about the doctor playing online games hit the internet.