Death for the milkman

China gets tough on those behind the scam

Two men have been sentenced to death and a woman, a top executive of a dairy company, got life imprisonment by an intermediate people's court in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province, China, for their roles in the production and the sale of milk that was deliberately contaminated with an industrial chemical. At least six babies died and 300,000 fell ill after drinking the milk powder produced by the dairy company Sanlu Group. According to investigations, Geng Jinping, the middlemen who bought milk from farmers and sold it on to dairies, watered it down and mixed it with melamine, a nitrogen-rich chemical used to make plastics and fertilisers, which creates the appearance of higher protein levels in quality tests.

The court has sentenced Zhang Yujun, 40, to death for producing 770 tonnes melamine-laced “protein powder” and selling more than 600 tonnes to others to be mixed in the milk powder. Jinping also faces execution for selling 900 tonnes of milk tainted by 434 kg of protein powder to Sanlu Group. Geng was convicted of manufacturing and selling toxic food while Zhang was convicted of endangering public safety. Zhang was well aware of the damage his actions created, the prosecution said. Another man, Gao Junjie, got a suspended death sentence for endangering public safety while protein powder dealers Zhang Yanzhang and Xue Jianzhong got life imprisonment. The remaining 15 defendants were sentenced to 15 years in jail.

However, the life sentence given to Tian Wenhua, 66, former board chairwoman of the Sanlu Group, has outraged many parents, as they feel she too should have been condemned to death. Tian had pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling toxic products and admitted knowing of the problems for at least four months before notifying the government. Adam Segal, senior dellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told TSI: “It's now unclear if Chinese officials have made any real gains in food safety over the past year or they have simply been blocking bad news out. Death sentences can act as deterrence but its impact will be short-lived.” Undoubtedly, the milk scandal has tarnished the image of Chinese products in the US and European markets.....Continue

Serendipity in Serendib

From all our immediate neighbours, only one may ever be considered as an escapist destination, it’s the island which Marco Polo declared as, “the finest in its size”, Sri Lanka. This beautiful country enjoys a rich heritage and an eventful history, as one finds it through the pages of Greek, Egyptian and Indian literature.

As soon as I arrived at the Colombo International Airport, a plethora of appealing elements unfurled before my senses. The heavy warm air, the copious green foliage, the luxuriant swirls of the Sinhalese language and the multi-coloured Buddhist flags. All of them in perfect harmony and yet individually alluring.

From the bustling commercial capital, 12 kilometers south, I reached the passive but exquisite colonial beachfront hotel of Mt. Lavinia. A legacy of colonial heritage, it stands as a monument to the forbidden love of a Governor General and a local mesitzo dancer who cast a spell on his heart. Time stood still in the corridors of this grand old structure, but I managed to stir a beach volleyball game with the effervescent and warm staff outside. A few good games and a special body massage later, I parked myself pretty comfortably and called it a night.

In the morning, after breakfast, I left for the city of gems or Ratnapura. The scenic route takes us passing the paddy fields, rubber plantations and extensive tea estates to the foothills of Adam’s peak – the holy mountain where Ratnapura is situated. A visit to one of the museums, gem workshop or even mines and one gets educated to the variety and processing of precious stones. Sri Lanka is most renowned for its Blue Sapphires.....Continue

Air farce one

As the ‘Bush’ jokes era winds down with Barack Obama taking over on 20th January, here’s one last satirical jibe at ‘The Decider’ who has been ‘misunderestimated’! So, it’s 2006 and the President (of the US of A of course!) is coming. Among other things on his agenda after Air Force One (the Presidential plane) touches down in India, is his wish to shake hands with a ‘young’ Indian and the responsibility for finding that Indian is of Samantha Patel’s whose Zenith PR is the agency hired for the job. Six madcap shortlists later, Samantha and able assistant Ritu Johnson find themselves in the American consulate taking the contestants through a ‘Survivor’ meets ‘Big Boss’ style reality show setting to find out who will be the last one standing to shake hands with the President.

Throw in six dysfunctional contestants in a room for a night as they compete in farcical rounds (‘Recognising American Faces’ where one guy thinks Bin Laden is Osho or reading out a Bush speech while acting like a duck!) and the laughs are bound to come. The beauty is that the laughs are a result of insightful writing and dialogue as much as the ability of the cast. Konkona Sen Sharma is in top form as the Bengali author and the frontrunner in the contest, but the others too play their slightly typecast (there’s the Gujju stock broker, the right wing MBA, the cool accent trainer, the software engineer and even a Paris Hilton wannabe!), but hilariously funny, roles with aplomb!....Continue