Death Sentence in Chinese Milk Scandal

HEALTH/POLITICS - In China today a Chinese court condemned two men to death and gave a dairy boss life in prison in the first sentences handed down in the tainted milk scandal, which ignited public anger and accusations of coverups. The death sentences and a compensation plan for the victims appear to be part of a government bid to put an end to the scandal.

Dozens of police guarded the courthouse and cordoned off the surrounding area with plastic barriers. Officers told the victims' families to keep about 100 metres away for fear of a revenge killing.

Investigations showed that middlemen who sold milk to dairy companies were watering down raw milk, then mixing in the banned industrial chemical melamine in dairy products to make them appear to have higher protein content.

Infant formula tainted with melamine was blamed in the deaths of at least six babies and the illnesses of nearly 300,000 babies.

A life sentence was given to Tian Wenhua, 66, the former general manager and chairwoman of Sanlu Group Co., the dairy at the centre of the scandal. She was the highest-ranking official charged in the food safety scandal. During her Dec. 31 trial, Tian admitted she had known the milk was tainted for months before informing authorities. Tian pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake or substandard dairy products. Tian was also fined $2.92 million USD while Sanlu, which has been declared bankrupt, was fined $7.3 million USD.

Some of the relatives of the victims, who gathered outside the court in cold weather in northern China, said Tian got off lightly.

"My granddaughter died. She (Tian) should die too, she should be shot," said Zheng Shuzhen, of Henan province, who said her one-year-old granddaughter died in June after drinking Sanlu milk. "She has brought such harm to the public, to children."

The Chinese court sentenced Zhang Yujun, 40, to death for producing a melamine-tainted powder used in the tainted milk and added to fool quality tests. Geng Jinping was also given the death penalty for producing and selling toxic food. A third man, Gao Junjie, was given a suspended death sentence, which is usually commuted to a life sentence. 21 other sentences were also announced.

Despite government crackdowns China is rife with fake and counterfeit products, everything from baby formula to Gucci bags to birth control pills.