China sentences man for illegal vaccine trade

BEIJING - A local court in Guanyun county, Jiangsu province, has sentenced Zong Renhong, an illegal vaccine trafficker, to five years and six months in prison.

Zong was also fined 300,000 yuan ($47,300) for illegal vaccine trade, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP).

Zong's case was related to a scandal in Shandong province that came to light in 2016. A network for illegal vaccine sales was believed to involve improperly stored or expired vaccines worth tens of millions of yuan, which were sold illegally in 20 provincial-level regions.

More than 300 people were later arrested and over 170 officials were investigated for involvement in the scandal.

The investigation into Zong's case was directly overseen by the SPP and the Ministry of Public Security.

The court found that between 2013 and 2016, Zong, who had no pharmaceutical qualifications, conducted transactions with multiple people including Pang Hongwei, a key criminal in the scandal, to illegally purchase and sell hepatitis B, varicella and rabies vaccines involving over 870,000 yuan.

Zong pled guilty at the court and said he would not appeal.