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Hong Kong (AFP) May 4, 2010 Four mainland Chinese parents who said their children were poisoned by melamine-tainted dairy products launched a legal bid for damages in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Frustrated by the lack of means to seek redress in China, the parents are demanding a total of about 84,000 Hong Kong dollars (10,770 US) from New Zealand's Fonterra, a major shareholder of the now-defunct Sanlu Group. Fonterra is a cooperative owned by 11,000 diary farmers in New Zealand, and is reportedly the second largest shareholder of Sanlu, the group at the centre of the milk scandal that shocked the nation in 2008. Sanlu formally declared bankrupt in 2009, partly because it was ordered by authorities to pay compensation of about 900 million yuan (132 million US) to victims of the poisoning. David Matthews, Fonterra's general counsel, said in a statement that there was no foundation to the claims and the appropriate venue for the victims' redress should be mainland China, not Hong Kong. "We recognise that this was a tragedy for all concerned." "The claimants are residents of mainland China. The Chinese Government managed the compensation for victims of melamine poisoning and we understand these claimants would have been included in that compensation scheme." Matthews said the lawyers for the claimants had already pursued compensation matters in mainland China and "we believe that is where this matter should be dealt with, not Hong Kong". "For these reasons, we do not believe there is any legal foundation for this claim." The statement also said Fonterra had written off the entire value of its investment in Sanlu, amounting to 653 million US dollars. Melamine is normally used to make plastics but was added to the dairy products to give them the appearance of higher protein content. The industrial chemical, found in products from 22 Chinese diary companies, was blamed for the deaths of at least six infants and for sickening 300,000 others in China. The scandal led to huge recalls worldwide. The Hong Kong's Small Claims Tribunal adjourned the case until May 25.
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