Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Punishing Corporate Greed!

GOOD MORNING FLINT!
by Terry Bankert
12/31/08

CHINA SETS A WORLD EXAMPLE OF HOW TO TREAT DISGRACED PRIVATE SECTOR EXECUTIVES.

Tian Wenhua chairwoman of a Chinese diary company , and several other executives, went on trial on Wednesday over a tainted milk scandal that has killed at least six children and made thousands ill. She is the former general manager of the Sanlu Group, pleading guilty to charges of "producing and selling fake or substandard products,"

The four executives are Sanlu's former board chairwoman and general manager Tian Wenhua, former deputy general managers Wang Yuliang and Hang Zhiqi, and Wu Jusheng, a former executive in charge of the firm's milk division. Defendant Wang, in a wheelchair after losing the use of his legs in a suicide attempt, sobbed when speaking in court.

See video at: http://v.cctv.com/html/media/bizchina/2008/12/bizchina_300_20081231_15.shtml

The crime committed by these dairy producers is that they diluted milk supplies with water so that they could make more money. They added the industrial chemical melamine to the diluted milk in order to give the appearance of higher levels of protein. Melamine is described as being "Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.”

The European Union set a standard for acceptable human consumption of melamine at 0.5 milligrams per kg of body mass, Canada declared a limit of 0.35 mg and the US FDA’s limit was put at 0.63 mg, but was later reduced to 0.063 mg daily.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine

Sanlu products were found to have the highest content of melamine, at 2,563 milligrams per kilograms. Wenhua and three other executives face a possible sentence of life in prison. These creation failed to report cases of Chinese children developing kidney stones and other complications from drinking milk adulterated , by them, with melamine for months . Melamine, an industrial compound used in making plastic chairs, countertops, plates, flame retardants and even concrete, has been added to food to cheat nutrition tests due to its high nitrogen content. China is bringing to justice 17 people involved in producing, selling, buying and adding melamine in raw milk. Six children have died and more than 290,000 made ill from the contaminated milk.

The Government in China will restore credibility by passing stiff sentences.

Already executed was Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the food and drug watchdog, the State Food and Drug Administration taking bribes.

Posted Here by
Terry Bankert
See
- http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4BU00T20081231?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=10341
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7805560.stm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine
- http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/31/content_10584145.htm - http://v.cctv.com/html/media/bizchina/2008/12/bizchina_300_20081231_15.shtml

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