BEIJING – China’s former top drug regulator was sentenced to death Tuesday for taking bribes to approve untested medicines, as the country’s main quality control agency announced its first recall system targeting unsafe food products.
The developments are among the most dramatic steps Beijing has publicly taken to address domestic and international alarm over shoddy and unsafe Chinese goods — from pet-food ingredients and toothpaste mixed with industrial chemicals to tainted antibiotics.
The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court convicted Zheng Xiaoyu for taking bribes in cash and gifts worth more than $832,000 when he was director of the State Food and Drug Administration, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The court then issued the death penalty, the report said.
Zheng, who ran the drug administration from its creation in 1998 until he was fired in 2005, saw his power increase substantially in 2002 when the government required that all drugs be approved by the agency. The change resulted in a massive backlog, giving companies a strong incentive to find ways to expedite approvals.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18911849/
Similar Posts:
- ‘Viagra’ for women to hit the shelves soon
- Drug deaths come down thanks to Church campaign
- Rev. Chanchinmawia’s death not a homicide
- No foul play in Mizo priest’s death: CBI
- Police submits findings on pastor’s death to court
May 30th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
It is the court, not SRS, that judged him. In Mizoram, the police could not get any conviction as they as too lazy or too busy.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:38 am
An va do deuh ve Dan hmanga action lak chu a tha a lom mahse nunna meuh hi chua hlu a sin mawle.