Champions' gold awards 'a fake'
By Li Qian |
November 8, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SEVERAL Chinese Olympic champions have agreed to submit gold cans awarded by Guangdong-based soft drinks producer Jianlibao for verification after a judo gold medalist allegedly found her award was a fake.
The champions are seeking compensation from the beverage maker if the gold cans prove to be counterfeit.
Jianlibao awarded every champion with a so-called pure-gold can, weighing 200 grams, after these national heroes returned to China, Chinese Business Morning View reported yesterday.
A gold shop in Shenyang, northeast Liaoning Province, however, said the cans were made from cheap materials and were worth just 50 yuan (US$7.88), after Zhuang Xiaoyan, the gold medalist in the 72kg class judo competition had her can checked.
Zhuang kept her gold can as one of her most treasured things for 19 years before being told her prize was "fake gold," according to Xinhua.
"I had always thought the gold can was the best proof for my professional career. It gave me a lot of confidence in my life during the past 19 years," she told Xinhua.
She said she stored the "gold can" in a bank for three years, costing her over 1,000 yuan a year. When suspicions were raised, she had the can tested, only to be told it was worth less than 100 yuan.
Zhuang contacted Jianlibao but was told she should pursue the problem through "legal procedures."
A source from the Legal Affairs Management of Jianlibao Group told Xinhua that Jianlibao had informed local police, adding that they will look into the "fake gold can" issue.
"We take this case seriously," said Jianlibao assistant manager Chen Weijian.
Jianlibao, whose energy drink was one of the best sellers in China in the 1990s, plunged into crisis in 2005, when poor management and stiff competition from international rivals like Coca-Cola and Pepsi led to a total debt of more than 1 billion yuan (US$157 million).
Li Jingwei, the former group chairman, received a 15-year imprisonment last Wednesday for siphoning 60 million yuan from the company's account. Before that, former Jianlibao president and CEO Zhang Hai was also sentenced 15 years jail time for embezzling public funds in February 2007.
The champions are seeking compensation from the beverage maker if the gold cans prove to be counterfeit.
Jianlibao awarded every champion with a so-called pure-gold can, weighing 200 grams, after these national heroes returned to China, Chinese Business Morning View reported yesterday.
A gold shop in Shenyang, northeast Liaoning Province, however, said the cans were made from cheap materials and were worth just 50 yuan (US$7.88), after Zhuang Xiaoyan, the gold medalist in the 72kg class judo competition had her can checked.
Zhuang kept her gold can as one of her most treasured things for 19 years before being told her prize was "fake gold," according to Xinhua.
"I had always thought the gold can was the best proof for my professional career. It gave me a lot of confidence in my life during the past 19 years," she told Xinhua.
She said she stored the "gold can" in a bank for three years, costing her over 1,000 yuan a year. When suspicions were raised, she had the can tested, only to be told it was worth less than 100 yuan.
Zhuang contacted Jianlibao but was told she should pursue the problem through "legal procedures."
A source from the Legal Affairs Management of Jianlibao Group told Xinhua that Jianlibao had informed local police, adding that they will look into the "fake gold can" issue.
"We take this case seriously," said Jianlibao assistant manager Chen Weijian.
Jianlibao, whose energy drink was one of the best sellers in China in the 1990s, plunged into crisis in 2005, when poor management and stiff competition from international rivals like Coca-Cola and Pepsi led to a total debt of more than 1 billion yuan (US$157 million).
Li Jingwei, the former group chairman, received a 15-year imprisonment last Wednesday for siphoning 60 million yuan from the company's account. Before that, former Jianlibao president and CEO Zhang Hai was also sentenced 15 years jail time for embezzling public funds in February 2007.
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