A Chinese court has sentenced two men to death for their role in a tainted milk scandal.
Nearly 300,000 children fell ill last year after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, a toxic industrial compound that can give a fake positive on some nutrition tests.
The closely watched trial of middlemen and executives from the Sanlu Group, a now bankrupt firm that had failed to report cases of infants getting sick from drinking its products, wrapped up just before the most important holiday in China.
Affected parents had focused their anger on Sanlu's former general manager, Tian Wenhua, and were angry she was given a life sentence and would not face execution.
Tian had pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake or substandard products, which state media said did not carry a death sentence. Besides the life sentence, she was fined 24.5 million yuan (€2.76m).
Melamine is more commonly used in making plastic chairs, countertops, flame retardants and even concrete, and causes health problems such as kidney stones when consumed by children.
Claims of official concealment and indifference have turned the milk powder case into a volatile political issue for the ruling Communist Party, which is wary of protest.
Today, police guarded the courthouse at Shijiazhuang, a gritty industrial city south of Beijing, nudging people away but avoiding harsh confrontation.
The session to announce the verdicts and sentences was closed to the public but a court official gave details to reporters outside.
One of the men sentenced to death was Zhang Yujun, who had made and sold over 600 tonnes of 'protein powder' laced with melamine between October 2007 and August 2008, the official China Daily quoted prosecutors saying earlier this month.
The powder was bought by middlemen who added it to pooled, watered-down milk from farmers that was then sold on to Sanlu. One of these men was also given the death sentence.
A third man was given a suspended death sentence, which usually means life in prison on good behaviour.
