Four jailed in toxic milk case
By Wang Qingchu |
October 13, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FOUR people who produced substandard milk powder by adding outdated milk products intended for animals and a toxic industrial chemical were given jail terms from one and a half to 11 years for manufacturing and selling inferior food products.
Litong District People's Court in Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, heard Qiangle Dairy, owned by Ma Yueqiang, the crime ring leader, produced substandard milk powder worth 2.31 million yuan (US$362,609). The powder was sold to individuals and companies in Shaanxi, Hubei and Zhejiang provinces, according to Legal Daily.
Ma Yueqiang was sentenced to 11 years and fined 1.5 million yuan, while three accomplices were jailed for between one and a half and eight years, with fines from 150,000 to 600,000 yuan.
The four have appealed, the report said.
More than 30 tons of the toxic milk powder were confiscated by Ningxia authorities in December. Tests found each kilogram of powder contained 7.3 to 11.8 milligrams of melamine, much higher than the national limit of 2.5mg.
Ma Junhe, one of the defendants, confessed in court they mixed malt sugar powders, milk powder animal feed, some past its shelf life, and melamine with light whole milk powder.
More than 92 tons of the powder were manufactured and 25 tons sold to a wholesale market in Shaanxi Province last year, the court heard.
In 2008, at least six children died and nearly 300,000 fell ill from powdered milk laced with melamine, an industrial chemical added to low-quality or diluted milk to fool inspectors by giving misleadingly high protein readings.
Earlier this year, Chinese authorities sought to calm public alarm after reports that some manufacturers had illegally added a leather protein to dairy products to cheat protein-content checks.
Litong District People's Court in Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, heard Qiangle Dairy, owned by Ma Yueqiang, the crime ring leader, produced substandard milk powder worth 2.31 million yuan (US$362,609). The powder was sold to individuals and companies in Shaanxi, Hubei and Zhejiang provinces, according to Legal Daily.
Ma Yueqiang was sentenced to 11 years and fined 1.5 million yuan, while three accomplices were jailed for between one and a half and eight years, with fines from 150,000 to 600,000 yuan.
The four have appealed, the report said.
More than 30 tons of the toxic milk powder were confiscated by Ningxia authorities in December. Tests found each kilogram of powder contained 7.3 to 11.8 milligrams of melamine, much higher than the national limit of 2.5mg.
Ma Junhe, one of the defendants, confessed in court they mixed malt sugar powders, milk powder animal feed, some past its shelf life, and melamine with light whole milk powder.
More than 92 tons of the powder were manufactured and 25 tons sold to a wholesale market in Shaanxi Province last year, the court heard.
In 2008, at least six children died and nearly 300,000 fell ill from powdered milk laced with melamine, an industrial chemical added to low-quality or diluted milk to fool inspectors by giving misleadingly high protein readings.
Earlier this year, Chinese authorities sought to calm public alarm after reports that some manufacturers had illegally added a leather protein to dairy products to cheat protein-content checks.
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