Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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December 31, 2008

Former Dairy Boss Pleads Guilty in Chinese Milk Scandal Trial
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2140E41:A6F02AD83191E1606A48AF16A4AEFA94D937473925D9872C&
 
Trial of Sanlu Group's Tian Wenhua and three other executives began
Wednesday in northern Hebei's capital, Shijiazhuang, where the company's
headquarters is located 
The former head of the Chinese company at the center of China's deadly
tainted milk scandal has pleaded guilty to the charges of producing and
selling substandard products. Tian Wenhua, Sanlu Group Co.'s former
board chairwoman and general manager, is taken into a court to stand
trial, in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, 31 Dec 2008Chinese
television showed images of the trial Wednesday of Tian Wenhua, head of
the Sanlu Dairy Products group, and three other top executives. News
reports say Tian told the court she learned of consumer complaints about
tainted Sanlu milk powder in mid-May, but did not report the situation
to local authorities until August, just days before the start of the
Beijing Olympics. Prosecutors say the company first began receiving
complaints about the quality of its product from consumers as early as
December of 2007.Sanlu milk formula was found to be contaminated with
the industrial chemical melamine, which is commonly used to make
plastics and furniture. If added to watered-down milk, it gives the
appearance of higher protein levels. If taken in excessive levels,
melamine can cause kidney stones, and babies who drank tainted infant
formula were the most widely affected. The tainted dairy product has
been blamed for causing the deaths of at least six infants in China and
sickening nearly 300,000 others. In all, 22 Chinese dairy firms have
been found to have sold tainted milk. The Chinese government last week
ordered them to pay $160 million in compensation to the families of
babies that died or fell ill. The French news agency (AFP) reports a
small, but vocal, group of protesters outside the courthouse, in the
northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang. Forty-five year old protester Hua
Lian is quoted as saying authorities should deal with the culprits
harshly in order to teach others a lesson. Another protester said he
could not afford the proper medical treatment for his son, who was made
sick by the tainted milk. Sanlu declared itself bankrupt last week. The
scandal not o
nly tarnished the company's reputation, but China's as well. It comes
after a series of food and product safety scares and led to recalls of
Chinese-made dairy products around the world.


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