Verdicts in tainted milk cases upheld

Verdicts in the tainted milk scandal were upheld for nine people yesterday, including three sentenced to death and a sentence of life imprisonment for Sanlu ex-boss Tian Wenhua.

The Hebei Higher People's Court decided to keep Tian in jail for the rest of her life after she was convicted of producing and selling fake and substandard products and for her failure to stop selling the products after knowing they were contaminated last summer.

Evidence in the first trial on Jan 22 suggested that the dairy giant bent under pressure from local government officials and covered up the news before the Beijing Olympics.