China Executes Former Food Safety Chief Over Fake Medicines

Chinese executioners put to death the former head of the nation's drug and food safety watchdog yesterday in an attempt to stem a crisis of consumer confidence in domestic produce.

The unusually harsh punishment comes amid a new scandal over the contents of water coolers. According to the Beijing Times, more than half of the capital's coolers contain fake branded water.

It is the latest in a series of outcries over lax safety and quality control standards, several of which have reverberated across the world and damaged China's reputation as an exporter. The government has stepped up its efforts to tackle the bribery and counterfeiting that are at the heart of the problem.

State media announced yesterday that Zheng Xiaoyu - former director of the State Food and Drug Administration - has been executed less than two months after being sentenced.

During his tenure, the administration reportedly approved six medicines that turned out to be fake, leading to the deaths of at least 10 people. Zheng was found guilty of accepting bribes worth 6.5 million yuan (£430,000) and dereliction of duty, Xinhua news agency said.

He is the most senior official to be executed for seven years. The supreme people's court said he deserved no mercy despite confessing and handing over the money he received as bribes.

"The social impact has been utterly malign," the court said. "Zheng Xiaoyu's grave irresponsibility in pharmaceutical safety inspection and failure to conscientiously carry out his duties seriously damaged the interests of the state and people."

In a crackdown, one of Zheng's subordinates was given a suspended death sentence last week. The government said it would also begin rotating key positions in licensing and inspection bureaux to prevent too-cosy ties developing with pharmaceutical companies and food producers.

"The few corrupt officials of the SFDA are the shame of the whole system and their scandals have revealed some very serious problems," agency spokeswoman Yan Jiangying told reporters.