China executed two men yesterday in an apparent attempt to assuage public anger at the tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and damaged the country's reputation.
The pair were middlemen singled out by the government for the harshest punishment from last year's scandal, in which more than 300,000 infants fell ill.
The discovery of widespread melamine contamination in the milk supply shocked Chinese consumers and damaged the reputation of Chinese-made goods overseas. Countries seized or banned imports of Chinese dairy products, including processed goods made with milk powder, such as chocolate.
Zhang Yujun was convicted of endangering public safety, and Geng Jinping for producing and selling toxic food, according to the official Xinhua news agency, which quoted a statement from the Shijiazhuang municipal intermediate people's court.
Zhang was found guilty of selling more than 600 tonnes of melamine-laced protein powder. Melamine was used within China's fragmented supply chain to disguise the low protein content of diluted milk from dairy companies.
Geng was convicted of selling tainted milk to the now defunct Sanlu Group, which was at the heart of the scandal that involved 22 dairy companies.
Dong Shiliang, whose son developed kidney stones after drinking tainted milk powder, said: “The large milk powder enterprises, which should face heavy punishment, are being protected and not punished.”
