Two sentenced to death in China's tainted milk scandal

A Chinese court yesterday sentenced two men to death for their role in the tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and made nearly 300,000 ill in September last year.

The punishments handed to the individuals involved in the scandal have come as a huge disappointment to grieving parents and the larger public.

Several affected families had gathered outside the court in a city south of Beijing, demanding justice and compensation as the proceedings concluded with government officials, middlemen and executives of the Sanlu Group, the producer of the tainted milk in attendance.

Zhang Yujun, one of the accused sentenced to death, had made and sold over 600 tonnes of powder laced with melamine between October 2007 and August 2008. The powder was bought by middlemen which was then adde to watered -down milk procured from farmers and then sold on to Sanlu.

Another man received a life term for selling the melamine contaminated powder. Melamine is an industrial compound that can be used to beat tests for protein content because of its high nitrogen content.

Sanlu ignored complaints of Chinese children developing kidney stones and other conditions from drinking their milk months for months before the scandal broke in September.

Another accused former general manager of Sanlu, Tian Wenhua is likely to be sentenced on Thursday on charges of producing and selling fake or substandard products; she pleaded guilty on 31 December.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is hoping that the public outrage would subside by next week to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, the most important holiday in China.  

However, the scandal may not die down so soon as official concealment and indifference in various aspects of the matter are being openly talked about. 

Police prevented two parents from attending the trial of the dairy executives, according to activists. Police high-handedness and other incidents have also been reported.

Several parents who will receive compensation under a government plan, said the trial does not end their worries about the future of their children. They want the government to conduct studies on the long term effects of melamine to help them know what to expect.

The government had last month awarded160 million dollars in compensation to the families of babies that died or fell ill.

However, families find this woefully inadequate according to lawyers. Many other parents of sick children have not received any money at all and while some have received just 300 dollars.