China Farmer Gets Death Penalty For Poisoning Rival's Milk

BEIJING -- A Chinese dairy farmer has been sentenced to death for lacing her rival's milk supply with industrial salt, causing the deaths of three young children, state media said Friday.

China has been plagued by a slew of food safety scandals. The government cracked down after the industrial chemical melamine was added to milk products to appear to bolster the protein content. That 2008 scandal had nationwide reach and left six children dead and sickened 300,000.

But the latest case was isolated. A local court in Pingliang city in far western China's Gansu province found Ma Xiuling guilty of deliberately adding nitrite to the milk of a dairy farming couple in revenge for some business disputes, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Earlier reports said a month-old baby and two children younger than 2 died. Xinhua said 36 people were hospitalized.

The Gansu Daily newspaper said Ma's husband, Wu Guangquan, was sentenced to life in prison for purchasing the poison.

Both Ma and her husband have lodged appeals, Xinhua said.

(This version CORRECTS 36 were sickened instead of 39.)

Related on HuffPost:

Comments

[SoulOfDespair]

01:23 PM on 12/12/2011

That is just terrible... and sad... Kids dying from milk infested poison. All they wanted was to drink healthy!

[Havana Thinks]

06:16 AM on 12/12/2011

It is disgusting and immoral that anyone would harm innocent people because of greed, rivalry, to get back @ someone for what they think hurt them. The result is some dead children, babies. I cannot imagine being that viscious to not consider the ramifications of one's actions. The man and woman are complicit from my understanding. So sorry for the children/babies and who knows how many older/elderly, might have been harmed also. Often stats are not done because it is considered past their time and chalked up to 'old age'.

[WarriorLemming]

05:42 AM on 12/12/2011

Wow, welcome to the undesirable side effects of Capitalism, China.

[raker]

01:44 PM on 12/11/2011

Orange you glad that China is where many of our foodstuffs come from, including (from another item in the news), the apple juice concentrate that's reconstituted and sold as arsenic-laced apple juice here in the US.

[Adam Valen Levinson]

07:09 AM on 12/11/2011

He was sentenced to life "for PURCHASING the poison"? Actually, I guess that's accomplice to murder. What about the cows? What was their mooootive?

[WarriorLemming]

05:46 AM on 12/12/2011

Cows? They have no brains or feelings so they are happy to stand long hours on concrete floors to give their babies milk to us humans so that we can continue to prosper and RULE THE WORLD! Bwaaahaaaaa!

If you don't believe me, ask the cows..... ;)

[stjoshy]

01:15 AM on 12/11/2011

this would have ruined cookie monsters day. keep the milks clean!!! OMNOMNOMNOMNOM!!

[WILLIEMOJORISIN]

12:40 AM on 12/11/2011

In China they don't have endless 25 years of appeals,this woman will be dead soon,as she deserves.

[Boo2You2]

08:29 AM on 12/11/2011

Yeah, doesn't matter if one is in fact guilty or not. No appeals, no nothing. Just take 'em out back and k(i)ll 'em, just like they did Jesus.

[patianneb]

10:35 AM on 12/10/2011

From the Chinese point of view, the death penalty was invoked, less because of "unfair practices" than the death of three young children.
I have very mixed feelings about the death penalty, but will admit to feeling there is a thread of justice here. The heads of the corporations held responsible for the baby formula scandal and the pet food scandal not that long ago were also executed.
If you research annual deaths and hospitalizations due to food product poisoning in the USA, it makes you (me, anyway) wish our laws had stronger and more direct consequences, whether or not Death would or should be the answer.

[baxtron]

04:51 PM on 12/09/2011

Sounds like the free market has reached the souls of all Chinese citizens. Children beware.

[paddlerchick]

04:13 PM on 12/09/2011

Cut big government get rid of the FDA. This is what happens.

[WarriorLemming]

05:50 AM on 12/12/2011

Capitalism, Plutocracy--going to far any direction has it's nightmares.

[Halsey]

11:49 AM on 12/09/2011

At first glance, I thought this was in Texas...okay..snark re death penalty.

The woman and man obviously deserve major prison time since their actions resulted in deaths.
In our country, big agri, once or twice a year has a huge recall after many die or are sickened by the horrid, inhuman "growth" of chickens, pigs and cows (and soon horses, goats, rabbits). No one in the USA even goes to jail, much less prison, much less the death penalty. What do we do, we "fine" a company about .00001% of net annual revenue. They write off the fine and go back to biz as usual. China kills a few food contaminating people every now and again. My guess is to appear to "care". We don't even fake compassion when 30 die from lysteria..
I'm ranting out of the every present feeling of impotence in our own food system.

For me, I'd rather get the death penalty than face life in a Chinese prison (or any prison for that matter). Okay..off to a lighter topic.

[FarmLuv]

12:26 PM on 12/09/2011

How does growth harm anyone? Do you mean growth hormones? If so, they are only legal for use in beef cattle in the United States (some other countries allow for it in sheep, pigs, and chickens).
And its not like producers get slapped with a small fine and everything goes back to normal. Many places end up shutting down either because they can't pay the fine or no one will buy their meat, dairy, etc) afterwards. Some do make a comeback but not as many as you make it sound. And if its salmonella in a poultry flock, every bird on the premises must be killed, as required by law.

[FarmLuv]

12:30 PM on 12/09/2011

I do not mean to sound as if I am minimizing the loss of life or health that results from these incidences. It is horrible that it happened because someone wanted to cut corners. But please don't just spout whatever it is that you think is true without research just because you have a platform.
And if more people bought locally then these outbreaks wouldn't effect so many people when they do happen. It says right on your milk jug (or whatever package) where it came from.

[Halsey]

01:36 PM on 12/09/2011

Guilty on the "spouting off charge". I DO buy locally. I just think about those who don't live in areas with such choices as an option (like inner city...pizza as vegetable..and pepper spray for that matter). I went on too long however. I'll try to reign it in next time.

[RedDog79]

09:43 AM on 12/09/2011

they should go to prision. similarly, so should anyone in our congress who wants to eliminate safe water, air, and food regulations.

[lemealone]

12:01 AM on 12/10/2011

uhm, safety regulations doen't necessarily mean anything is safer.

[signgrrl]

07:07 PM on 12/11/2011

no, but it / they provide a teeny bit of motivation in that direction.