Bereaved Chinese Family Takes First Sanlu Payout

Bereaved Chinese Family Takes First Sanlu Compensation Payout

The Chinese family of a six-month-old infant who died a painful death from from acute kidney damage after being fed tainted baby formula has accepted a compensation payment of 200,000 yuan (NZD $54,000) from Chinese dairy products company Sanlu.

The payment, reported today by the Wall Street Journal, is the first to have been accepted.

A number of Chinese milk producers were found to have distributed milk contaminated with melamine, a protein cheating substance to fool testers, but all the sickest children had been drinking Sanlu brand milk. Thousand of babies are still in hospitals across China.

Sanlu, 43% owned by shareholders in New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, has now written off assets and is allegedly seeking bankruptcy protection as it faces damages cases.

The Wall Street Journal reports that some Chinese regions have average death-compensation payments which are lower than 200,000 yuan, but others are higher.

The full story can be found at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123209924194589875.html

ENDS

© Scoop Media