Tainted milk scam: China to compensate child medical costs 'until 18'

Beijing, Dec.31 (ANI): The compensation fund for victims of a tainted milk scandal will pay for medical costs the sickened incur until they reach 18, affected families said Tuesday.

The notice of the latest pledge to victims and their families was in the name of 22 dairy companies whose products were found contaminated with melamine. Parents of victims in Hebei, Henan and Jilin provinces told China Daily yesterday they received the notification.

"We'll raise the money to set up a medical fund to cover expenses for lingering illnesses until the child reaches 18. The fund will be managed by China Life," a compensation document received by Wu Yanfang, a mother of a girl in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, who suffered from kidney ailments after drinking tainted milk, showed.

Wu said she received the document on Monday.

The document said medical costs arising from the tainted milk could be reimbursed at local branches of China Life, the country's biggest life insurer. The claims would have to be accompanied by medical diagnosis to prove that the related illness is linked to kidney problems caused by the melamine-tainted dairy products.

Parents of victims will also receive one-off compensation. Wu said the compensation for her 16-month-old girl, who still has a stone in her kidney, is 2,000 Yuan, but she rejected it because it was "woefully inadequate".

Parents who do not accept the compensation are asked to sign a document to state that they do not agree with the proposed amount and will seek compensation through lawsuits, Wu said. (ANI)