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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China ’fake milk’ scandal deepens |
| 2004-04-22 |
| Last Updated: Thursday, 22 April, 2004, 06:35 GMT 07:35 UK A baby milk scandal which has killed dozens of infants in China appears to be widening. State television says infants who were fed fake formula have been treated for malnutrition in a second province. An investigation is under way, and police in Anhui province have already detained five wholesalers of fake baby milk, according to Xinhua news agency. Around 200 babies in Anhui alone were fed formula milk of little nutritional value, media reports said. An initial inquiry has shown that 45 types of substandard powder were on sale in Fuyang City, Anhui, produced by 141 factories across China, Xinhua said. Chinese television said fake powder and malnourished babies were also found in the neighbouring province of Shandong. Reporters there found 10 brands of fake milk powder on sale. State media has reported that 50-60 infants have died after being fed the powder, although only 13 have so far been named. Doctors say the baby milk scandal is responsible for the worst malnourishment they have seen in 20 years. Local media in Fuyang printed pictures of one six-month-old baby boy who weighed less than he did at birth. They said some of the babies developed what doctors called "big head disease", where infants’ heads appear abnormally large in comparison to their bodies. Some "big heads" ought to roll over this bit of murder. It was not clear if the counterfeit powder included any toxic ingredients, but some children were reported to have died within three days of being fed the fake milk. An analysis of one formula found it contained as little as one-sixth the required amount of protein and other nutrients needed for a baby’s proper development, reports said. Local authorities have now announced they will give free medical treatment to the surviving babies. A BBC correspondent in Beijing, Louisa Lim, says counterfeit goods are often on sale in rural areas, where supervision is slack and customers poorly informed. But in this case the human cost of this get-rich-quick scheme has sparked widespread anger. Our correspondent says an investigation will be held into why the Fuyang city government failed to act despite knowing about the problem last May. How much money did these killers make? Maybe a couple of thousand dollars? Murdering babies is one hell of a way to make some money. China needs to face up to how their rampant product counterfeiting brought this about. Their state sanctioned intellectual property theft has killed more than babies. People around the world are being put on the street by jobs lost to China’s economic black hole. Nobody should be too surprised to finally see the vultures coming home to roost. |
| Posted by:Zenster |