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Third infant dies from milk powder, officials sacked

China said yesterday that a third infant had died after drinking contaminated milk and the number of sick had leapt to many thousands, while an official said the health threat was concealed for at least a month.

The number of ill children had risen nearly five-fold to 6,244, and those with “acute kidney failure” was at 158, Health Minister Chen Zhu (陳竺) told a news conference.

The escalating scandal triggered a recall of exports, the sacking of officials and detention of a sacked company executive.

The scare has crossed the nation’s borders, with China’s quality watchdog saying two producers were recalling milk powder exported to Taiwan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Gabon and Burundi.

Vice Governor of Hebei Yang Chongyong (楊崇勇) told reporters yesterday that Shijiazhuang officials had delayed reporting the poisonings throughout last month. Sanlu kept quiet even longer, Yang said.

“We know that before they reported the problem to the Shijiazhuang government on Aug. 2 they had already covered up many of the facts,” he said.

Other offending firms include Olympics sponsor Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group and Hong Kong-listed Mengniu Dairy Co.

“We are very sorry that consumers have been injured physically and psychologically because of these batches of milk powder,” Mengniu said in a statement.

As in past product safety scandals, the government has responded by sacking junior officials. Police announced they detained the just-fired chairwoman of Sanlu, Tian Wenhua (田文華).
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