Topic: China Sentences Two Men to Death for Melamine Scandal (Read 2053 times)

  • Avatar of Dulcinea
  • I'm not your guy, friend.
  • PipPip
  • Group: Member
  • Joined: Jun 20, 2005
  • Posts: 279
News Story 1
News Story 2



Two men were sentenced to death, and another to life in prison for the tainted milk scandal. 6 babies died from drinking the tainted milk, and others were hospitalized.


Some thoughts-
Do you think this is an appropriate sentence?
How do you think this compares to the Maple Leaf meat scandal (More details here)?
Are there reasons you would give for NOT executing the men? FOR executing them?
If it had not been such a worldwide scandal do you think they would have the same sentence? Or does this have to do with China losing face in the world?
What does it say about the global food trade when toxins in one country can affect the whole world? Are there enough international laws to protect consumers?
Last Edit: January 23, 2009, 08:44:52 pm by Dulcinea
  • Avatar of Marcus
  • THE FAT ONE
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Sep 28, 2002
  • Posts: 2690
I don't believe in capital punishment but this is pretty gross.  They could laced the "powder" with cyanide or some other chemical agent and fuck over a lot of people.  It's a pretty big deal when privately owned companies aren't inspected and allowed to serve their products to the masses.  It's not like it was an accident, some assholes just though "Hey, let's make huge amounts of money by selling poison and calling it protein!"

On that same note, I've always hated the DSHEA in America.  Anyone with a fucking placebo can say whatever they want and sell it in stores.  You could piss in a capsule and sell it legally in America without RDA approval as long as you don't claim it cures disease.  Fuck.
  • Avatar of Ragnar
  • Worthless Protoplasm
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jun 15, 2002
  • Posts: 6536
I don't know it's kind of what they deserve but if we're running by that logic basically we should fry anybody in charge of a gun/cigarette company
http://djsaint-hubert.bandcamp.com/
 
  • Avatar of the bloddy ghost
  • ::pulls another Hideo Kojima::
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Mar 25, 2003
  • Posts: 1050
I don't know it's kind of what they deserve but if we're running by that logic basically we should fry anybody in charge of a gun/cigarette company

actually, it's kind of completely different than that. people with any sort of a fucking brain can realize the potential damage a gun or cigarette can do. on the other hand, I'm sure mothers aren't expecting baby formula to be lethal.
has a girl in his bed. pot in his pipe and family guy on the tube. i like life
  • Avatar of Kaworu
  • kaworu*Sigh*Isnt he the cutest person ever
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Oct 12, 2002
  • Posts: 5755
death sentance is never the answer, no matter how gross the crime.
  • I fear and I tremble
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Aug 21, 2005
  • Posts: 6165
theres no need to kill them

stick them in prison for the rest of their lives but I don't think execution is the responsible thing to do. Its partially the governments fault for allowing that shit to get through. It wasn't like those dudes KNEW that crap was going to cause deaths and illness, they were just being incredibly greedy and stupid as hell.
DEUCE: MEETING THE URINE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL AND REALIZING IT'S JUST LIKE ME AND MY PREJUDICES  THIS WHOLE TIME WERE COMPLETELY FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF PTTTTHTHTHH GOD IT'S EVERYWHERE<br />DEUCE: FUCK THIS TASTES LIKE PISS<br />PANTS: WHERE IT SHOULD TASTE LIKE COTTON CANDY OR PICKLES<br />DEUCE: OR AT LEAST LIKE URINE NOT PISS
  • aye ess dee eff el cay jay ache
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jun 24, 2005
  • Posts: 5149
this is pretty big news in new zealand because it involved fonterra. i guess for all the things they could use the death sentence for, poisoning hundreds of thousands of babies is one of the least extreme. i think china would've done it anyway, or might've done something more extreme if this wasn't on the world stage because i listen to all the propaganda
I USE Q'S INSTEQD OF Q'S
  • Avatar of jamie
  • ruined former youth seeking atonement
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jun 4, 2003
  • Posts: 3581
wow i have heard nothing about this. uhhh as a rule i'm against the death penatly completely though, but i don't know anything about this yet. time to go and look.
  • Oy yeah baby!
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jul 11, 2004
  • Posts: 543
Dont waste human resources and food on people who don't deserve them. I say kill them both. And quickly.
$280 USD Donated GamingW

F*CKING Awsome Games that I support!



  • Avatar of the bloddy ghost
  • ::pulls another Hideo Kojima::
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Mar 25, 2003
  • Posts: 1050
yeah, I don't think they should be killed. Being sent to prison for life would be the better punishment.
has a girl in his bed. pot in his pipe and family guy on the tube. i like life
  • Avatar of Cray
  • One tough potato
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jan 15, 2002
  • Posts: 537
I'm against death sentence, and even though in this case they were very greedy, and didn't care about what could happen, you can't compare that to a first degree murder. I hope someone will intervene before they get killed.
The convent [FULL GAME]                  Smiley's Quest[FULL GAME]
*Download*                                   *Download*
*Mirror*                                            *Topic*
*Topic*
                            Download my games!
  • Avatar of Dulcinea
  • I'm not your guy, friend.
  • PipPip
  • Group: Member
  • Joined: Jun 20, 2005
  • Posts: 279
Just to clear up (and so I can add to the first post), I couldn't find this- did anyone know their reason for the tainted milk? Was it an accident or not? I've heard people say it was and people say it wasn't.
  • Avatar of The Dude
  • Artist, novelist, gamer, and friend.
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: May 29, 2003
  • Posts: 1798
The death sentence is a barbaric answer. Life in prison is the answer. Death is too easy an ending. Let them suffer for their crimes.
  • Avatar of Kaworu
  • kaworu*Sigh*Isnt he the cutest person ever
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Oct 12, 2002
  • Posts: 5755
kill the people who kill people!!!
  • Oy yeah baby!
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jul 11, 2004
  • Posts: 543
Yes suffer and waste resources, food, medicine, all that could be used on people deserving of it.
$280 USD Donated GamingW

F*CKING Awsome Games that I support!



  • aye ess dee eff el cay jay ache
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jun 24, 2005
  • Posts: 5149
death represents the loss of a considerable investment of resources, i have heard this as the evolutionary reason for grief

Just to clear up (and so I can add to the first post), I couldn't find this- did anyone know their reason for the tainted milk? Was it an accident or not? I've heard people say it was and people say it wasn't.

if you add melamine to cheap milk it looks expensive. pretty sure they did it on purpose.
 
Last Edit: January 23, 2009, 10:42:50 pm by climbtree
I USE Q'S INSTEQD OF Q'S
  • Avatar of 4Dsheep
  • 4Dsheep at your service!
  • PipPipPip
  • Group: Member
  • Joined: Jun 25, 2003
  • Posts: 367
It's a pretty big deal when privately owned companies aren't inspected and allowed to serve their products to the masses.
Not only is China a communist country, it's also bad at being communist! I'm pretty sure the Chinese KGB could have prevented this, and killing the perpetrators after the fact probably isn't the best PR for the Party.

People in China have been sentenced to death for less, so it's not as if this comes as a terribly big surprise.

Quote
Are there reasons you would give for NOT executing the men?
Well, being civilised is one.

Quote
If it had not been such a worldwide scandal do you think they would have the same sentence? Or does this have to do with China losing face in the world?
Hard to say. On the one hand, I could see China executing all of them. On the other... no, that's about it. They can get away with killing some of them in public, seeing as the other superpower gets away with that kind of barbarism, but to kill all of them would strain relations with civilised countries. Plus, no international company would want to move to China if they risked capital punishment.
"Field Marshal Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches close to Berlin."

Sam: "What assurance do you give, Taraka, that this bargain will be kept?"
Taraka: "My word? I shall be happy to swear by anything you care to name--"
Sam: "A facility with oaths is not the most reassuring quality in a bargainer..."
  • Avatar of Cray
  • One tough potato
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jan 15, 2002
  • Posts: 537
There's plenty of people who don't deserve resources being spent on them, and many of them aren't even in jail, should we kill them all too?
The convent [FULL GAME]                  Smiley's Quest[FULL GAME]
*Download*                                   *Download*
*Mirror*                                            *Topic*
*Topic*
                            Download my games!
  • Oy yeah baby!
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Jul 11, 2004
  • Posts: 543
@Cray: If you commit a crime that leads to the death of another person and you KNOWINGLY did so. You no longer ought to be allowed the limited resources this planet is already struggling to produce. Hell, I probably dont deserve them either but I follow the law and do my best not to kill other people. k thanx
$280 USD Donated GamingW

F*CKING Awsome Games that I support!



  • Avatar of Marcus
  • THE FAT ONE
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Premium Member
  • Joined: Sep 28, 2002
  • Posts: 2690
Just to clear up (and so I can add to the first post), I couldn't find this- did anyone know their reason for the tainted milk? Was it an accident or not? I've heard people say it was and people say it wasn't.

The second article gives more details.  The people in charge of the company that produced melamine and the company that added it to the milk knew the powder was laced and they even tried to recall it when it was too late.  Obviously greed was involved.  Melamine is cheap to produce and falsely tests positive for protein.  Mix a little bit of protein and a little bit of melamine and suddenly you have a cheap formula to add to watered down milk.  Money in the bank.  The first article states the melamine is impossible to test for until recently so they thought they could get away with it.

Quote
Yes suffer and waste resources, food, medicine, all that could be used on people deserving of it.

In America, it costs more to kill someone than other countries which pretty much do it overnight.  Some people sit in death row for decades and they wastes thousands of dollars in court cases, appeals, and lawyers.  Costs for guards and security are higher than other prisons and the equipment required to kill someone plus the specialist needed to do it are also ridiculously expensive.  It's cheaper to incarcerate someone for a life sentence (which is actually 30 something years and then parole although multiple life sentences do stack) than to kill them.