China court rejects appeal of former Sanlu chairwoman

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-26 19:17

SHIJIAZHUANG - A court in north China's Hebei Province on Thursday rejected the appeal of Tian Wenhua, former chairwoman of bankrupt Sanlu Group, which was at the heart of the tainted milk scandal.

The Hebei Higher People's Court upheld the original verdict in which Tian was sentenced to life in jail after being convicted of producing and selling fake and substandard products. She was deprived of political rights and fined 24.68 million yuan (3.6 million U.S. dollars).

The court also upheld convictions for a producer and a dealer of melamine-laced protein in the retrial on Thursday afternoon in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital.

Zhang Yujun was sentenced to death in the first verdict on January 22 by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court. He was convicted of producing 775.6 tonnes of melamine-laced "protein powder".

Zhang Yanzhang, who bought the protein powder from Zhang Yujun and resold 230 tonnes to others, was sentenced to life in prison on January 22