BEIJING – China's supreme court has ordered judges across the
country to issue harsher sentences, including the death penalty, to
people convicted of food safety violations as the government struggles
to clean up the nation's food supply after repeated scandals.
The
Supreme People's Court said courts should impose longer jail terms and
larger fines on people found guilty of violating food safety
regulations and that death sentences should be given in cases where
people died. The directive was announced Friday in a report by the
official Xinhua News Agency that the high court posted on its website.
The
directive runs counter to efforts by China's top court and legislature
to reduce the use of the death penalty. China executes more people than
all other countries combined, but its leadership is in the midst of a
new campaign to stamp out persisting contamination of food products —
from tainted baby milk to dirty cooking oil — that have stirred public
anger.
As part of the push, the government has
recently encouraged more openness in reporting food problems in the
tightly controlled media. The Supreme People's Court notice said
information relating to food safety cases should be made public in a
timely manner and urged open trials when dealing with major cases.
The
notice also urged severe punishments for government officials who take
bribes and shield people who commit food safety crimes, as well as
harsher financial penalties for manufacturers who produce tainted food
items.
In cases where food scandals have caused
deaths, Chinese law says those convicted should be sentenced to more
than 10 years in jail, life in prison or death. AP
