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Top Chinese Official Gets Death Penalty

DW StaffMay 29, 2007

China has sentenced the former head of its food and drug watchdog to death for accepting bribes in return for granting approvals for hundreds of medicines. The sentence by a Beijing court comes as China scrambles to assert control over its chaotic food and pharmaceutical industries, following a series of international health scares caused by defect Chinese-made products.

https://p.dw.com/p/LsP4
China executes more people per year than the rest of the world put together but death sentences are not usually meted out to high-ranking officials
China executes more people per year than the rest of the world put together but death sentences are not usually meted out to high-ranking officialsImage: AP

The Beijing Municipal No 1 Intermediate People’s Court said Zheng Xiaoyu had misused his official position and endangered public life and health.

The 63-year-old former head of China's State Food and Drug Administration was found guilty of dereliction of duty and of illegally taking money and gifts worth more than 850,000 US dollars.

The court said Zheng had taken bribes to approve substandard and only partially-tested medicines, including an antibiotic blamed for at least 10 deaths. It also said that the death sentence was appropriate because of the huge amount of bribes involved, and the great damage inflicted on the country and the public.

30 other people were also implicated in the scandal, including Zheng's wife Liu Naixue, his son Zheng Hairong, and several officials at various drug companies.

Crackdown on corruption

Many see the verdict as an indication that Beijing is taking steps to crack down on official corruption, which has become a serious problem, and especially since the country opened up its economy.

It also shows that China is serious about tackling growing concerns, both domestic and international, over health and safety standards.

Recent incidents involving Chinese exports of chemically-tinted food products and adulterated pet food to the US have done major damage to the image of Chinese products globally. And the huge public outcry has forced the Chinese government to take immediate measures.

Tightened quality control

Beijing says it has tightened its nation-wide quality control systems and developed new food product recall regulations to target potentially dangerous and unapproved food products, which will be introduced by the end of the year.

Zheng Xiaoyu led the state’s food and drug administration from its establishment in 1998 until he was dismissed in 2005. Earlier this year, he was expelled from the ruling Communist party.

Under Chinese law, he has the right to appeal against the ruling and can hope to have the sentence changed to life imprisonment.