The tainted milk problem
surfaced early in September, when six babies died and nearly
300,000 became sick. Some of the victims’ families filed a lawsuit against the dairy companies. Either because of their efforts or through the government prodding, about 22 companies have finally agreed to pay a lump sum to the victims.
The Dairy Industry Association told
Xinhua:
The enterprises offered to shoulder the compensation liability. By doing so, they hope to earn the understanding and forgiveness of the families of the sickened children.
The milk companies involved in the scandal will also pay the medical bills for any possible after-effects from the melamine poisoning, which mostly affects kidneys.
The association, however, didn’t explain how much money they will give and for how long.
While the companies have agreed to compensation, the government has filed a case against six individuals for manufacturing or buying and selling protein additives containing melamine or adding the chemical to dairy products.
One of indicted is Tian Wenhua, the chairwoman of Sanlu, the main dairy company involved in the melamine-milk scandal.
