Court fines 2 shopkeepers for selling hazardous infant formula
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) A Chinese court has ordered that two shopkeepers who sold fake milk powder must pay compensation to the family of a boy whose head swelled and limbs wasted away from malnutrition after drinking the formula, the government said on Friday.
A court in the city of Fuyang in China's eastern province of Anhui, one of the poorest of the country, ordered Ma Bucai and Liu Zeyun, the couple who ran a shop, to pay 74,000 yuan (8.900 US dollars) to the family of one-year-old Tong Xiaoxue, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Tong is among more than 200 reported infants who were fed the milk and suffered wasted limbs and swollen heads - common symptoms of malnutrition.
A nationwide scandal erupted in April following the deaths at least 12 babies in Fuyang from malnutrition attributed to fake milk powder.
According to the People's Intermediate Court of Fuyang, lab results showed that the protein content of the milk powder sold by Ma and Liu was far below national standards, Xinhua said.
More than 130 merchants, milk producers and officials in Fuyang were arrested. The government hasn't said what happened to most of them.
China suffers from rampant counterfeiting of food and medicines, but the case in Fuyang caused an uproar after pictures of malnourished infants appeared on television and in newspapers.
The deaths were an embarrassment to the government of President Hu Jintao, who has called for officials to focus on protecting public health and safety.
Regulators have forced 54 substandard milk powder producers to close, Xinhua said.
.png)
