Post by Charles Martel on Jan 22, 2009 17:35:04 GMT
You know what? I don't often agree with China, but I think this is an instant where the death penalty is well used. It is clear these men and women were fully aware that their actions posed serious danger to human health. Yet, they willingly participated in a massive scandal, completely negligent of their responsibilities, believing they could profit from cutting corners. In a country like China where corruption is rife, and there is no shortage of others who are willing to gamble with human life making dangerously substandard products, this death sentence will hopefully scare them sh*tless, and make them think twice before doing anything similar.
Death Sentences in Chinese Milk Case
BEIJING — Chinese courts sentenced two men to death and three other defendants, including a top dairy company executive, to life in prison on Thursday for endangering public safety in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children, according to state-run news media.
Another defendant received a suspended death sentence and 15 others were given jail terms ranging from two to 15 years.
The sentences were the first to be handed down in one of the worst food safety scandals in China in decades.
The Intermediate People’s Court in Shijiazhuang, in the northern province of Hebei, said the defendants had intentionally produced or sold dairy products laced with a toxic chemical called melamine, which was used to artificially increase protein readings but which caused kidney stones and other ailments in about 300,000 children last year.
Among those to receive the death penalty was Zhang Yujun, a dairy middleman who the government called one of the “principal criminals” in the scandal. He was convicted of selling 600 tons of melamine-tainted “protein powder” to dairy companies.
Another dairy producer, Geng Jinpin, was also sentenced to death. A third man, Gao Junjie, received the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, which means he could be spared execution.
Tian Wenhua, the 66-year-old former chairwoman of the Sanlu Group, one of China’s largest dairy companies, was sentenced to life in prison for her failure to stop producing and selling the tainted goods even after her company learned that the products were flawed.
More at: New York Times
Death Sentences in Chinese Milk Case
BEIJING — Chinese courts sentenced two men to death and three other defendants, including a top dairy company executive, to life in prison on Thursday for endangering public safety in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children, according to state-run news media.
Another defendant received a suspended death sentence and 15 others were given jail terms ranging from two to 15 years.
The sentences were the first to be handed down in one of the worst food safety scandals in China in decades.
The Intermediate People’s Court in Shijiazhuang, in the northern province of Hebei, said the defendants had intentionally produced or sold dairy products laced with a toxic chemical called melamine, which was used to artificially increase protein readings but which caused kidney stones and other ailments in about 300,000 children last year.
Among those to receive the death penalty was Zhang Yujun, a dairy middleman who the government called one of the “principal criminals” in the scandal. He was convicted of selling 600 tons of melamine-tainted “protein powder” to dairy companies.
Another dairy producer, Geng Jinpin, was also sentenced to death. A third man, Gao Junjie, received the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, which means he could be spared execution.
Tian Wenhua, the 66-year-old former chairwoman of the Sanlu Group, one of China’s largest dairy companies, was sentenced to life in prison for her failure to stop producing and selling the tainted goods even after her company learned that the products were flawed.
More at: New York Times
