Former CEO pleads guilty in Chinese tainted milk scandal

An executive at the heart of the Chinesemelamine milk scandal has pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake or substandard products, according to the state news agency.

Tian Wenhua, the former boss of Sanlu Group, went on trial on Wednesday and testified that she began investigating product quality issues in May but did not notify authorities until August, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Three other executives face similar charges after being linked to infant formula contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.

They could be executed if convicted, the China Daily newspaper reported.

In September, news broke that products made by Sanlu group, including raw milk and baby food, contained melamine a toxicindustrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing that can cheaply bulk up the protein content of food.

Whenconsumed in large amounts, melamine can cause kidney stones and kidney failure.

At least six children have died, and nearly 300,000 people have become illfrom consuming the contaminated products.

On Wednesday, Tian told the court after she learned of consumer complaints about the milk in mid-May, she set up a teamto look intothe case, Xinhua said.

But she also said she did not submit a written report on the situation to the government until Aug. 2.

Otherdefendants in the caseinclude people accused of producing melamine and marketing it to milk producers, as well as milk collectors who mixed the chemical into raw milk sold to major dairies.