Two executed over Chinese milk scandal

China executed two men today for selling hundreds of tonnes of contaminated milk that resulted in the deaths of six babies and left 300,000 ill.

The scandal, which erupted in September last year, highlighted shoddy food safety standards in China and the readiness of the authorities to hush up problems that could have cast a shadow over the Beijing Olympics in August.

Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping were put to death after their appeals were turned down. All death sentences must now be reviewed by the Supreme Court and many are carried out by lethal injection rather than by firing squad.

Mr Zhang, a cattle farmer, had been convicted of producing and selling more than 770 tonnes of protein powder laced with the industrial chemical melamine between July 2007 and August 2008. The chemical was mixed into milk to give the appearance of a higher protein content in tests.