Vaccine case to see harsh penalties

The State Council has vowed harsh penalties - including enormous fines - for companies and individuals involved in the country's vaccine scandal, which unleashed a huge public outcry.

Based on investigation results and the law, companies and individuals involved in the case will be subject to harsh penalties and judicial bodies will decide on criminal penalties for those found to have committed crimes, the State Council decided at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Monday.

Those found to have committed wrongdoing will also be expelled from the market and banned from operations related to drug production, according to a decision at the meeting, which also heard a report of the State Council investigation group regarding the illegal production of vaccines by Changchun Changsheng Bio-tech Co, a major vaccine producer in China.