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Two more on trial in China milk scandal
2008-12-30
BEIJING (AFP) - Two more suspects in China's tainted milk scandal went on trial Tuesday, bringing to 17 the number who have faced court in high-profile proceedings over the nation's worst food safety case in years. Brothers Geng Jinping and Geng Jinzhu are accused of making and selling milk tainted with melamine, state-run television CCTV said, broadcasting images of the two standing in court with their heads bowed in front of the judges. At least six babies in China died this year and 294,000 fell ill after drinking milk laced with melamine, which is normally used to make plastic. The chemical was mixed into watered-down milk to make it appear richer in protein but it caused severe kidney and urinary tract problems in babies who drank contaminated milk powder. The Gengs are accused of being "middlemen" who added melamine to milk, which was then sold to Sanlu, the largest Chinese dairy producer to have become embroiled in the scandal, and other dairy firms, CCTV said. Geng Jinping, the former boss of a milk station, and Geng Jinzhu, a driver, had allegedly mixed 434 kilograms (955 pounds) of melamine-laced 'protein powder' with over 900,000 kilos of milk beginning October last year, CCTV said. They sold product worth more than 2.8 million yuan (405,000 dollars) before being caught in September, according to the report. The pair, who had bought the powder from two other suspects who have not yet stood trial, appeared at a court in Shijiazhuang city, Hebei province, where Sanlu is based. On Monday, nine other people suspected of trading or producing the tainted additives went on trial in Shijiazhuang and surrounding districts, while six others were tried on Friday last week. The trials have been very high-profile in China, broadcast in daily televised news bulletins -- a rare occurrence in a country where court cases are usually conducted behind closed doors. In China, trials often last just one day and verdicts are announced soon after. However the verdicts in the milk trials have not yet been announced, with state press reporting only that they would be at an "appropriate time". The publicity appeared to be part of an effort by China's communist authorities to show they had taken tough action to end an enormous public relations nightmare. The scandal, which emerged in September after initially being covered up, shook the foundations of a Chinese food industry that was already beset by repeated safety problems. It quickly became a major global concern after contaminated Chinese milk products were found abroad, leading to recalls around the world. The former head of the Sanlu Group, Tian Wenhua, is also set to go on trial in Shijiazhuang on Wednesday with three other top company officials. The group was once one of China's leading dairy producers but last week filed for bankruptcy due to the losses it incurred over the scandal. Lawyers seeking to file lawsuits against the company have said Tian could be facing a long jail term or even the death penalty. State media reported on Monday that the 22 Chinese dairy firms found to have sold tainted milk would pay 160 million dollars in compensation to the families of babies that died or fell ill after drinking their products. But lawyers for the victims' families have criticised this as being not enough, after courts had rejected their own lawsuits against the companies.
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