A number of officials in Fuyang, a city in eastern China’s Anhui
Province where 12 infants died after consuming fake milk
powder, have been ordered to resign. The Ministry of Supervision is
also imposing other administrative punishments.
Vice Mayor Ma Mingye, who was responsible for commercial and
industrial affairs in the city; Fuyang Industry and Commerce Bureau
Director Zhou Yisheng; and Ding Liling, vice-director of the local
bureau of public health, were all ordered to resign.
They have also received special demerits in their records, a
severe administrative punishment that could effectively ruin their
official careers, and a serious warning within the Party ranks.
Fuyang Mayor Liu Qingqiang was given a special demerit in his
record.
The punishments were meted out in accordance with the Regulation
on Disciplinary Punishments within the Communist Party of China and
the temporary regulation on civil servants. They follow a thorough
investigation by an inspection team dispatched by the Ministry of
Supervision.
Investigation revealed that huge quantities of inferior milk
powder with little nutritional value entered the rural markets in
Fuyang through wholesale markets in Hefei, Bengbu, and Fuyang of
Anhui Province and Zhengzhou of central China’s Henan Province.
Babies who were fed these products failed to grow and developed
weakened immune systems, leading ultimately to disease and even
death in some cases.
In Fuyang alone, 12 infants died and another 189 suffered
malnutrition in varying degrees.
The inspectors concluded that the Fuyang government should be
held responsible for its lax supervision over the market.
Local bureaus of industry and commerce and public health checked
the markets and warned consumers by publishing a blacklist of
substandard milk powders after the first complaint was filed in May
2003. But inspectors found that the markets were not sufficiently
streamlined and related laws and regulations were not enforced
strictly enough by the local administration to remove the
threat.
Yang Shuxin, director of the local bureau of fair competition,
has been removed from his post and expelled from the Party. Local
public prosecutors are also looking into his alleged manipulation
of laws for his own benefit.
The Ministry of Supervision has pledged that it will continue
its investigations into this incident in order to ensure the safety
of the people.
The provincial administration of Anhui has urged its officials
to learn a lesson from this incident and faithfully fulfill their
duties.
(China Daily June 10, 2004)