News / World
China’s Drug Regulator sentenced to Death for Taking Bribes
Former Chinese director of the State Food and Drug Administration Zheng Xiaoyu was sentenced to death on Tuesday for taking bribes from drug companies to approve untested medicines.
Zheng was convicted by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court and sentenced to die for taking bribes in the form of cash and gifts that amounted to over $830,000. He had been at the head of the agency since its inception in 1998 and had the sole authority of approving drugs for the market beginning in 2002. In 2005 Zheng was fired from his position shortly after ten patients died using a drug approved by his agency.
The court’s decision to sentence Zheng to death is a result of mounting international pressure China has felt due to several export items containing tainted ingredients and industrial chemicals.
