Two Chinese put to death for part in tainted milk scandal

THE CHINESE government has executed two men for their roles in a contaminated baby milk powder scandal that led to the deaths…

THE CHINESE government has executed two men for their roles in a contaminated baby milk powder scandal that led to the deaths of at least six infants and made up to 300,000 sick.

Zhang Yujun was executed for endangering public safety and Geng Jinping was put to death for producing and selling food containing melamine, a toxic agent used in making plastics and fertiliser.

Melamine was added to watered-down milk to give the appearance of higher protein content.

The scandal, in September last year, caused panic as people worried their children might be affected and did much to negate a nationwide feel-good factor about the Beijing Olympics in August. It also sparked fears about product safety in China and led to global bans and recalls of Chinese dairy goods.

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The death sentences were issued earlier this year by a court in Shijiazhuang city. Appeals by the men had been turned down in March, Xinhua news agency said.

Zhang was convicted of producing and selling more than 770 tonnes of protein powder laced with melamine from July 2007 to August 2008. Geng was found guilty of selling milk tainted by the powder to dairy brokers as well as to the now-defunct Sanlu Group, the dairy giant at the centre of the scandal, it added.

Tian Wenhua, former chief executive officer of Sanlu, was convicted of manufacturing and selling fake or substandard products and she was jailed for life.

Twenty-two Chinese dairy firms were found to have sold tainted milk and were ordered to make hefty compensation payments.

The infants who died or were made sick suffered from kidney stones, kidney failure and other urinary tract problems.

There were accusations that news of the melamine tainting was suppressed ahead of the Olympics.