Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinpin, who were both sentenced to death in January for their roles in the melamine milk scandal, are now executed. Both had tried to appeal their sentences, but had their appeals turned down in March. While the government has been gung-ho about throwing out harsh sentences against various players in the scandal - which sickened scores of infants across the nation and killed at least six - it's been less interested in investigating accusations that news of the tainting had been surpressed for fears of bad publicity during the Beijing Olympics. more ›

A Chinese court handed down the sentences for three of the people involved in the contaminated milk scandal, and it wasn't pretty. Zhang Yujun, the head of a workshop that was allegedly China's largest source of melamine, and Geng Jiping, a melamine powder buyer and reseller, were both given the death penalty. more ›

From Danwei:

This series of spoof Sanlu ads is getting scrubbed from video sharing sites. Here's a copy from Ku6. The country bumpkin voice-over parodies the original ads, saying that Sanlu powder guarantees kidney stones.

Photo from Marc van der Chijs more ›

Okay, stop drinking milk now, all of you, or anything that has any form of dairy content in it — unless it comes from some foreign brand. While four babies have already died from Sanlu's tainted milk powder, and over 6,000 remain sick (including over 150 critically ill), the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has now announced that liquid milk sold by three top Chinese producers has also been found to be tainted with melamine. From AP:

A report posted on the agency's Web site said test results show nearly 10 per cent of samples taken from Mengniu Dairy Group and Yili Industrial Group - China's two largest dairy companies - contained up to 8.4 milligrammes of melamine per kilogramme. more ›

Welcome to the latest episode of Chinese Soundbites, a podcast series brought to you by ChinesePod and Shanghaiist. Every week we'll be bringing you topics and words pulled straight from the headlines, in Mandarin Chinese. more ›

• Zhang Zhenling, Sanlu's vice president, has made a public apology (see video on right) but did not explain why the company took so long to take proper measures in letting the public know about the contamination.
• A second baby has died and 1,253 infants have been diagnosed with illnesses linked to the contaminated milk powder. The Health Ministry expects a 'possibly rising' toll. (Update: Three babies have died, more than 6,244 others have fallen ill, with 158 strickened with kidney failure)
• Sanlu Group has sacked Tian Wenhua, the board chairwoman and general manager of the group. Tian has also been stripped from her post as the secretary of the corporation committee of the Communist Party of China.