Energy News  
Chinese dairy bosses could face February trial: prosecutor

by Staff Writers
Shanghai (AFP) Jan 7, 2010
Three Chinese dairy executives could face trial as early as next month for selling tainted milk products, prosecutors said Thursday, admitting the case had been under investigation for months.

The case against the general manager of Shanghai Panda Dairy and his two deputies comes after "illegally high" levels of melamine were found in powdered and condensed milk, a spokesman for Shanghai prosecutors told AFP.

"We will file the case with the court in around half a month," the spokesman said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the case.

The three -- who face charges of producing and selling toxic and hazardous food -- could face trial before the end of February, he added, saying the case would take at least a month to reach the courtroom from the time of filing.

Shanghai Panda Dairy was shut down and put on a "black list" during a tainted milk scandal in 2008, in which at least six infants died and nearly 300,000 were made sick by milk products laced with melamine, a toxic chemical.

Panda Dairy's products were found to have the second-highest levels of melamine in the nation, behind the now bankrupt Sanlu Group, the Shanghai Daily reported last week.

Authorities had allowed Panda Dairy to resume production, but the latest probe revealed it had reused tainted condensed milk that had been recalled from the market, the spokesman said.

He admitted government inspectors had discovered the products contaminated with melamine, which gives the appearance of a higher protein content, months before Chinese media first reported the dairy's closure last week.

"The case was uncovered quite early, actually," the spokesman said.

"Quality supervision authorities found the problem in a February-April inspection. The case was then handed to the police in April and the related people were detained by the police in April," he said.

He did not comment on why authorities waited so long to make the investigation public, but Chinese media have suggested the case was concealed out of fear that the revelations could damage China's economic recovery.

A total of 21 people have been convicted for their roles in that scandal. Two were executed and former Sanlu boss Tian Wenhua was given life in prison.

One other person was given a suspended death sentence, a punishment that is routinely commuted to life imprisonment, while 15 others were jailed for two to 15 years.

Sanlu, once one of China's largest dairy manufacturers, was declared bankrupt in February 2009 after having amassed 1.1 billion yuan (161 million dollars) of debt, Xinhua reported at the time.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Taiwan hopes US arms sales will go on despite beef dispute
Taipei (AFP) Jan 4, 2010
Taiwan said Monday it hoped the United States would continue its arms sales despite friction over a likely decision by the island to resume a ban on some US beef imports. "We hope the Unites States will keep offering defensive weapons to the Republic of China," defence ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue told AFP, referring to Taiwan by its official name. He was commenting on reports that Washi ... read more







The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement