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
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
