China Hopes Melamine Trials Will Restore Trust
By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH
SHANGHAI -- Chinese prosecutors on Friday argued cases against six people accused of involvement in spiking milk with a toxic chemical, in the first trials stemming from a widespread adulteration of dairy products that killed six children and sickened nearly 300,000 others.
Police say that one of the accused, Zhang Yujun, produced a mixture of melamine and a starch derivative that he and an associate, Zhang Yanzhang, sold to dairy farmers as "protein powder." Farmers added the powder to milk to make the milk appear higher in protein, in an effort to fool dairy-company quality tests.
The melamine-contamination scandal has shaken Chinese people's faith in the safety of the nation's food supply. And the government's legal battle against those responsible appears to be gearing up, as authorities seek to reassure consumers that regulators will protect them. Aggressive prosecutions would send a strong message that the government is serious about product safety.
Melamine, an industrial chemical used in plastics and adhesives, mimics the presence of protein in lab tests. Its use in additives mixed into milk became widespread in China. Government checks in September found melamine in baby formula and other milk products sold by more than 20 dairy companies.
The chemical can cause kidney ailments and organ failure in humans. Most of those sickened as a result of the adulteration were babies fed formula that contained melamine. Hundreds of children remain hospitalized as a result of the poisoning, according to the health ministry.
State television showed Zhang Yujun and Zhang Yanzhang in court Friday, handcuffed, and with their heads bowed as they faced questioning from a panel of three judges. The two men are charged with endangering public security. If convicted they could each face prison terms or the death penalty.
Zhang Jinlong, the attorney representing Zhang Yujun, said that his client's "behavior did jeopardize society and form a crime." But, he said, "We think there can be a more proper charge against him." He declined to elaborate.
Chinese lawyer Zhang Jinlong, center, leaves the court building in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei province.
The lawyer said he believes the two defendant Zhangs aren't related to each other. Zhang Yanzhang's attorney couldn't be located for comment.
The case is before the Intermediate People's Court in Shijiazhuang, which is home to Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co., the dairy company that experienced some of the worst melamine adulteration. Friday's hearing lasted six hours. Unless new evidence is found, there won't be another before the verdict is handed down, Mr. Zhang, the lawyer, said. It's not unusual for hearings in criminal trials in China to last just one day.
Legal Daily, a state-run newspaper, reported that Tian Wenhua, the chairwoman and general manager of Sanlu, would stand trial in Shijiazhuang Wednesday for "selling fake and shoddy products."
Sanlu earlier this week confirmed that it was bankrupt. The official Xinhua news agency said the company had net outstanding debts of 1.1 billion yuan, or about $160 million.
In the case of the Zhangs, police said, Zhang Yujun produced and sold more than 600 hundred tons of melamine-laced powder, beginning in October 2007 and continuing until August 2008.
—Kersten Zhang in Beijing and Ellen Zhu in Shanghai contributed to this article.Write to Gordon Fairclough at gordon.fairclough@wsj.com
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