8/14/2019 TheSun 2009-01-23 Page01 Melamine Pair Get Death
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Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)
No. 4685 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)
FridayJanuary 23, 2009
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SHIJIAZHUANG (China): Twomen have been sentenced to deathfor
their role in a tainted milk scan-dal that killed at least six
children,while the woman most widely
blamed for the tragedy got life in jail.Nearly 300,000 children
fell ill last
year after drinking milk intentionallylaced with melamine, a
toxic industrialcompound that can give a fake positiveon some
nutrition tests.
The closely-watched trial ofmiddlemen and executives from
the
Sanlu Group, a now bankrupt firmthat had failed to report cases
of infantsgetting sick from drinking its products,wrapped up just
before the most impor-tant holiday in China. The Lunar NewYear,
which falls on Monday, is a timefor families to reunite and Beijing
may
have hoped the sentences would deflectpublic outrage about the
deadly impactof the tainted milk during the festiveperiod.
Affected parents had focused theiranger on Sanlus former
generalmanager, Tian Wenhua, and were angryshe was given a life
sentence and wouldnot face execution.
She should have been shot, saidZheng Shuzhen, a 48-year-old
whosaid her granddaughter died in Juneof kidney failure after
drinking Sanlu
milk formula but was not included inthe list of victims. So many
childrendied but they kept the official numberdown so that she
could get life (in jail),not death, she said.
Tian had pleaded guilty to chargesof producing and selling fake
or sub-
standard products, which state mediasaid did not carry a death
sentence.Besides the life sentence, she was fined24.5 million yuan
(US$3.6 million).
Melamine is more commonly usedin making plastic chairs,
countertops,flame retardants and even concrete, andcauses health
problems such as kidneystones when consumed by children.
Claims of official concealment andindifference have turned the
milkpowder case into a volatile politicalissue for the ruling
Communist Party,
which is wary of protest.One of the men sentenced to death
was Zhang Yujun, who had made andsold over 600 tonnes of protein
powderlaced with melamine between October2007 and last August, the
China Dailyquoted prosecutors earlier this month.
The powder was bought by middle-men who added it to pooled,
watered-down milk from farmers that was thensold to Sanlu. One of
these men was alsogiven the death sentence.
A third man was handed a suspendeddeath sentence, which usually
meanslife in prison on good behaviour.
The court had announced it wouldsentence 21 defendants
implicated inthe scandal yesterday afternoon. How-ever, it said
shortly before conveningthat nine would be sentenced at other
courts. Yesterday, police guarded thecourthouse at Shijiazhuang,
a grittyindustrial city south of Beijing, nudgingpeople away. The
session to announcethe verdicts and sentences was closedto the
public but a court official gavedetails to reporters outside.
Reuters
Gradual freeze on intake of foreign workersby Husna
[email protected]
PUTRAJAYA: The intake of foreignworkers is being frozen
gradually sothat the economy is not affected, saysDeputy Prime
Minister Datuk Seri NajibAbdul Razak.
We are, however, serious in urgingemployers to hire more locals.
TheHuman Resources Ministry has beentold to work out the
numbers.
With easy resources available fromamong the foreigners,
employers are
keen to engage them. So, we want tosuggest that locals be given
priority. Wewant to see how local employers, eitherin factories,
shops or restaurants, cangive priority to local workers, he
saidafter chairing a Drug Prevention ActionCouncil meeting
yesterday.
Najib also said the cabinet hadinstructed that enforcement on
illegalworkers be stepped up nationwide be-cause certain areas
needed strict actionas there were too many of them.
On Wednesday, Human ResourcesMinister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam
said
the cabinet had decided to stop recruit-ing foreigners for the
manufacturing andservices sectors and those already herewould be
allowed to work until theirpermits expired or were retrenched.
Asked about reports that IntelCorporation, which is shutting
downtwo factories in Penang, would dismisssome 6,000 workers,
Najib, who is alsofinance minister, said: We are not sureabout the
numbers but we are monitor-ing it very closely. The government
is
in the midst of studying what to do toprevent major
unemployment.
MTUC secretary-general G. Rajas-egaran welcomed the freeze on
therecruitment of foreign workers. Hesaid the move was appropriate
as themanufacturing and services sectorsemployed about a million
foreigners.
As at the end of December, therewere some 2.1 million foreigners
work-ing in the country which representedabout 20% of the
workforce. Rajasegaransaid the government should also cancelthe
approved permits of foreigners who
had yet to arrive in Malaysia.Commenting on Bank Negara Ma-
laysias decision to cut its benchmarkinterest rate so as to
lower borrowingcosts and the call by the AssociatedChinese Chambers
of Commerce andIndustry Malaysia for the secondstimulus package to
be implementedquickly, Najib said the government hadyet to decide
on the timing.
However, he said the RM7 billionpackage announced in November
hadstarted rolling with RM5 billion alreadytransferred to the
various operating
ministries and agencies and the rest togo out next week.
Obama getsObama getscrackingcracking pg8
ANW AR
FAI Z
/ THESUN
Going for gold ...Staff of SunwayTheme Park inSubang Jaya,
onedressed up as theGod of Prosperity,cajoling thesymbol of
theLunar Year ofthe Ox with anorange. For thoseborn under thesign,
the next12 months willbe smoother
compared to thisyear althoughthere will also bemany
challenges.To learn what theyear ahead holdsfor you, turn topages
22&23.
We wish Chinese readers Gong Xi Fa Cai. There is no publication
on Monday and Tuesday.
Melaminepair get death
