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A Chinese court has condemned two men to death and sentenced a company boss to life for their roles in the production and sale of poisoned milk that killed at least six children and made almost 300000 sick. But angry parents said that jailing Tian Wenhua, the former head of Sanlu, was too lenient and she should have been executed too. More than 50000 infants were hospitalised with kidney problems after drinking Sanlu baby formula tainted with melamine, a chemical normally used to make plastics and fertiliser. Investigators said middlemen who bought milk from farmers and sold it on to dairies had watered it down and mixed it with the chemical, which creates the appearance of higher protein levels in quality tests. The intermediate people’s court sentenced 40-year-old Zhang Yujun to death for making and selling over 600 tonnes of “protein powder” laced with melamine. Prosecutors said during the trial that he was “fully aware of the harm” it created. Geng Jinping was given the death penalty for producing and selling toxic food. The official China Daily website said he added the powder to milk. A third man received a suspended death sentence, which is usually commuted to life in prison. The heavy sentences reflect the outrage across China caused by the case, not only because children were affected and because it taps into potent food safety fears, but because local officials covered up the problem for at least a month after Sanlu alerted them. Dozens of police today guarded …
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