CHINA. CHINA EXECUTES EX-FOOD AND DRUG CHIEF

July 10, 2007: the execution of former State Food and Drug Administration director Zheng Xiaoyu was confirmed by state television and the official Xinhua News Agency.
During Zheng's tenure from 1998 to 2005, his agency approved six medicines that turned out to be fake, and the drug-makers used falsified documents to apply for approvals. One antibiotic caused the deaths of at least 10 people. Zheng, 63, was convicted of taking cash and gifts worth $832,000. His death sentence was unusually heavy even for believed to carry out more court-ordered executions than all other nations combined, and indicates the leadership's determination to confront the country's dire product safety record. (Sources: Guardian Unlimited, 10/07/2007)