"There is reason to believe that the trial and the punishment mark the beginning of a long-standing fight against contaminated food," an editorial in the China Daily said.

The English-language paper is used by the government to air its views to a foreign audience.

A court in northern China on Thursday sentenced two men to death for making and selling milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, while a dairy firm boss was among three people given life sentences for their roles.

One other person was given a suspended death penalty, a sentence that routinely gets commuted to life in jail, while 15 others were imprisoned for terms ranging from two to 15 years.

Six babies died and nearly 300,000 others fell ill with kidney and urinary tract problems last year after drinking dairy products laced with melamine, which was mixed into milk to give the appearance of higher protein content.

The scandal further tarnished China's already battered reputation overseas for product safety, as contaminated Chinese dairy products were recalled around the world.

Relatives of the victims have accused the government of conducting show trials and making the 21 people scapegoats, saying government officials and many others involved in the scandal have not been held to account.

However the China Daily insisted the trials and verdicts set a benchmark for how similar cases should be handled in the future.

"The parents of many infant victims should feel relieved because justice has finally prevailed," the paper said.

"The trial of this case will hopefully set a precedent for handling similar cases in the future. It will hopefully create a better climate for food safety."

It also highlighted that more people would likely be punished, with 39 others still awaiting trial.

earlier related report
Parents express anger over China milk verdicts
Angry parents of victims in China's milk scandal accused the government Friday of holding show trials and giving little help to their sick children, after the high-profile sentencing of 21 people.

A court in northern China on Thursday gave two men the death penalty and jailed 18 others for terms ranging from two years to life for their roles in the poisoning of milk last year with the industrial chemical melamine.

The melamine was mixed into watered-down milk in what was apparently a widespread practice to give dairy products the appearance of higher protein content.

The state-run media said the verdicts had delivered justice to the families of the six babies who died and nearly 300,000 others who fell ill after drinking the contaminated milk last year.

But parents contacted by AFP disagreed.

"Of course the verdicts are not just, especially the verdict of Tian Wenhua," said Li Xuemei, the mother of a sick baby, referring to a life term given to the former boss of the main dairy firm implicated in the scandal.

Li and other parents wanted the death penalty for Tian, 66, a former member of China's ruling Communist Party and head of the Sanlu dairy company who is the highest-profile person to have faced court over the scandal.

They questioned whether she may have got a lighter sentence because of her contacts with powerful people.

They also asked why no government officials had been charged, while referring to long-standing accusations that local authorities in the northern city of Shijiazhuang where Sanlu is based were part of a cover up.

"So far no-one in the Shijiazhuang government has been punished," said Ma Hongbin, the father of a sick baby in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, who is informally representing other parents.

"In fact, many people say that Tian Wenhua was just a scapegoat, that there were many other people involved that will not face justice."

But Ma said he did not care too much about the verdicts, as he was focused on trying to get his 18-month-old daughter healthy again after she was fed Sanlu milk powder and fell ill.

"The most important thing is my child... she had an operation in hospital, but her condition is still bad. I don't know what will happen to her."

The government last month ordered the 22 Chinese dairy firms involved in selling the tainted milk to pay 160 million dollars in compensation to the families of babies that died or fell ill.

However the families and their lawyers have criticised the sum as woefully inadequate, with some parents of sick children not being given any money at all.

Ma said he had rejected a lump-sum compensation package of 30,000 yuan (4,400 dollars).

"The government should be responsible for my child's health for her entire life," he said.

Echoing complaints by other parents, Ma also said the government had rejected repeated requests for an investigation into the long-term impacts of consuming melamine.

"What we are concerned about now is our children. We demand that the government conducts intensive research into how melamine will affect our children and how these problems can be fixed," he said.

In contrast to the families' complaints, China's state-run media said Thursday's sentences set a benchmark for how similar cases should be handled.

"The parents of many infant victims should feel relieved because justice has finally prevailed," the China Daily newspaper said in an editorial.

"The trial of this case will hopefully set a precedent for handling similar cases in the future. It will hopefully create a better climate for food safety."

The two men given the death penalty were middle-men accused of mixing the melamine into watered-down milk.

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