Two face Hebei court over tainted milk

By Chen Qian  |   2008-12-29  |     ONLINE EDITION

TWO men involved in the tainted Sanlu milk scandal went on trial today in a court at Shijiazhuang, capital city of Hebei Province, for making and selling "protein powder" that contained melamine.

The Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court accused Gao Junjie of producing and selling more than 70 tons of "protein powder" and Xue Jianzhong of selling the powder, China News Service reported on its Website.

When normal milk powder was mixed with melamine, it raised the apparent protein content of milk.

Gao, from Heilongjiang Province, was accused of producing the tainted powder from the second half of last year and selling it to milk stations. Police seized 6 tons of it from his underground workshop.

Xue, a Hebei Province native, was accused of selling the tainted powder to milk collectors and dairy farmers.

Six people accused of making and selling tainted raw milk were put on trial last Friday in Hebei. No verdicts have been reached.

The China News Service report said two more suspects will face trial tomorrow and the Sanlu Group and its former board chairwoman and general manager will be on trial on Wednesday in the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court.

A 200 million yuan(US$29.4 million) compensation fund was set up by 22 dairy producers, including the Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group and will begin operation next month.

The 22 dairy producers all sold products tainted with the industrial chemical known as melamine that is used in manufacturing plastics.

Victims who fell ill or died after drinking the tainted baby formula will soon get financial compensation from the fund, operated and managed by China Life Insurance under the management of the Dairy Industry Association, China Business News reported.

The fund will pay for medical cost for victims until they are 18 years old, the report said.

Twenty-two dairy producers had also set aside 900 million yuan for one-time cash payments to victims.

The Ministry of Health said it was likely melamine contamination killed six babies. Another 294,000 infants suffered from urinary problems such as kidney stones, according to Xinhua news agency