2 Sentenced To Death in China Milk Scandal

BEIJING, Jan. 22 -- A court on Thursday sentenced two men to death for their roles in a deadly contaminated-milk scandal that embarrassed the Chinese government and prompted hundreds of families to sue for compensation. The woman in charge of the dairy company at the heart of the crisis was sentenced to life in prison.

The punishments were the first in the scandal, which broke in September. At least six children died and 300,000 were sickened by infant formula tainted with the chemical melamine, and more than two dozen countries, including the United States, recalled or banned food containing Chinese milk products.

The Intermediate People's Court in Shijiazhuang, where the dairy company is based, announced two other life terms and a suspended death sentence that is expected to be commuted to life imprisonment. Six defendants received terms ranging from five to 15 years. The court session was closed to the public and conducted under heavy security.

Tian Wenhua, 66, the chairwoman of the now-bankrupt Sanlu Group, was the highest-ranking executive charged in the scandal. She pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake goods and was fined $3.6 million. At her trial in December, she admitted knowing about the contamination for months before alerting officials.

The death sentences were given to Zhang Yujun, 40, for harming public security by operating an underground melamine workshop, and Geng Jinping, who ran a milk collection center and was convicted of producing and selling poisoned food.

Melamine, normally used to make fertilizers and plastics, was added to milk to raise its protein level in tests. Although harmless to adults, melamine can cause kidney stones in young children and animals. Investigations found that the trade in the illegal toxin was an open secret, with dairy farmers, milk collection centers and dairy companies often involved in efforts to disguise milk of poor quality as protein-rich.

Families of some victims said Tian had been made a scapegoat and was not as culpable as those who laced milk products with melamine. Others said she should have been sentenced to death but also accused the government of being more concerned about prosecutions than their still-recovering children.

"The government gave us only $300, and my son is still living with a kidney stone," said Hu Shuixia, 38, from Henan province. "Some people say that the government will never mention the Sanlu case again after sentencing these suspects to death. Rather than sentencing the criminals, the government should take care of our children."

Xu Zhiyong, a lawyer helping 213 families trying to sue the government, said the penalties were too harsh for those who produced and sold melamine, arguing that they had no idea how harmful it was. "Most parents aren't paying attention to this trial because what they need most is fair compensation, which has nothing to do with these sentences," he said.

Sanlu and 21 other dairy firms accused of selling contaminated milk have proposed a $160 million compensation plan, but the families are demanding more. The parents of the first child who died after drinking tainted formula were paid $29,000, state media reports said. But police have detained and pressured other parents and lawyers to discourage them from contacting the media and assembling a class-action lawsuit.

Complaints about Sanlu first surfaced in late 2007, and reporters alerted government censors in March. Doctors notified China's quality inspection officials in July. China's health minister later said Sanlu waited until Sept. 8 to alert officials even though the firm had found melamine in tests in August.

Researcher Zhang Jie contributed to this report.