China executes ex-drug chief amid health scandals

BEIJING, July 10 (Reuters) China's former drug and food safety watchdog chief was executed today after being found guilty of corruption and dereliction of duty amid a series of food and drug safety scandals, Xinhua news agency said.

The Supreme People's Court approved the death sentence against Zheng Xiaoyu, 62, who was convicted of taking bribes worth some 6.5 million yuan (850,000 dollars) from eight companies.

Zheng, head of the State Food and Drug Administration from 1998 to 2005, was sentenced on May 29 and his appeal was heard last month.

Zheng's execution marks the first time China has imposed a death sentence on an official of his rank since 2000.

The unusually harsh sentence reflected the pressure on Beijing from domestic and international alarm about corruption and consumer safety after a series of breaches and deaths involving toxins in food, medicines and other products.

China risked damaging its global credibility and provoking social instability if it did not tackle the food and drug quality problems, Sun Xianze, director of food safety coordination at the SFDA, said at the weekend.

Investigators found Zheng and his subordinates abused new rules in renewing drug production licences to squeeze kickbacks from companies, spurring the spread of fake drugs in a system plagued by corruption.

Last week, a court handed down a suspended death sentence on one of Zheng's subordinates on the same charges. Another senior SFDA official was jailed for 15 years in November for taking bribes and illegal gun possession.

''The nest of corruption in the SFDA has done incalculable harm to the state and people,'' the Procuratorial Daily said.

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