Zheng Xiaoyu
Encyclopedia
Zheng Xiaoyu was director of the State Food and Drug Administration of the People's Republic of China. He was sentenced to death in the first instance trial
at Beijing
No.1 Intermediate Court
on May 29, 2007. He was executed on July 10, 2007 for corruption and possibly tainted products in Mainland China
.
, Fujian
, Zheng Xiaoyu received his bachelor's degree
in biology
from Fudan University
in 1968. He joined the Communist Party of China
in November 1979.
He was born with two sisters, known as Wengu Xiaoyu, and Huyiel Xiaoyu.
Zheng was director of the State Pharmaceutical Administration from 1994 to 1998, head of the State Drug Administration from 1998 to 2003, and director of the State Food and Drug Administration from 2003 to 2005.
In May 2007, Zheng was convicted of taking bribes and dereliction of duty and sentenced to death by a trial court in Beijing. These corrupt practices are believed to have led to 40 deaths in Panama
from cough syrup that contained diethylene glycol
in place of glycerin. Zheng had been convicted of personally approving unproven and unsafe medicines after taking bribes from eight pharmaceutical companies totaling more than 6.49 million RMB
, (or a rough equivalent of 850,000 United States dollar
s), the former head of China's ministry of food and drug safety, which resulted in at least a hundred patient deaths (including directly and indirectly), or thousands according to the Chinese claims on the internet, and as a result, he was sentenced to death in the trial. It was also discovered during his eight year reign as the head of China's ministry of food and drug safety, Zheng personally ordered the approvals of more than 150,000 new medicines, an average of astonishing 134 times that of USA's FDA, which only approves 140 or so new medicines annually. Most of those 150,000 medicines were the products of the eight pharmaceutical companies that bribed Zheng, and a single unsafe medication of Anhui
Hua Yuan (华源) Company (since closed with its CEO committed suicide before his arrest) resulted 14 patient deaths and hundreds being permanently disabled, while several thousand fell seriously ill. Zheng's former deputy was also convicted, for accepting more than two million RMB
(or a rough equivalent of a quarter million US dollars) to help Zheng Xiaoyu. The former deputy was sentenced to a two year delayed death sentence and a new system for unsafe food recall would be implemented by the end of the year. However, the general public sentiment in China was that this was only the tip of the iceberg, because in the case of Zheng, the exact amount of the bribe was much higher than what has been revealed so far, and this is confirmed by Zheng's confession: in March 2007, Zheng admitted that the exact amount might never be known for sure because the 6.49 million was only what he accepted, and his wife and son also accepted separate huge amount of bribe which he was not part of, and the investigation on Zheng's family was still on-going.
Zheng entered an appeal for leniency on June 12, saying that the sentence was "too severe" citing the fact that he had confessed his crimes and cooperated with investigators. However, the court ruled that he was a "great danger" to the country and its reputation.
The appeal was rejected on June 22 and he was executed on July 10, 2007. State media did not initially report the method of execution, but it was later confirmed it was carried out by lethal injection, in a special van
in the prison grounds.
Trial court
A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.- In the United States :...
at Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
No.1 Intermediate Court
Intermediate people's court
An intermediate people's court is the second lowest local people's court in the People's Republic of China. According to the Organic Law of the People's Courts of the People's Republic of China, the intermediate people's courts handle relevant important local cases in the first instance and hear...
on May 29, 2007. He was executed on July 10, 2007 for corruption and possibly tainted products in Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
.
Biography
Born in FuzhouFuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
, Zheng Xiaoyu received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
from Fudan University
Fudan University
Fudan University , located in Shanghai, is one of the oldest and most selective universities in China, and is a member of the C9 League. Its institutional predecessor was founded in 1905, shortly before the end of China's imperial Qing dynasty...
in 1968. He joined the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
in November 1979.
He was born with two sisters, known as Wengu Xiaoyu, and Huyiel Xiaoyu.
Zheng was director of the State Pharmaceutical Administration from 1994 to 1998, head of the State Drug Administration from 1998 to 2003, and director of the State Food and Drug Administration from 2003 to 2005.
In May 2007, Zheng was convicted of taking bribes and dereliction of duty and sentenced to death by a trial court in Beijing. These corrupt practices are believed to have led to 40 deaths in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
from cough syrup that contained diethylene glycol
Diethylene glycol
Diethylene glycol is an organic compound with the formula 2O. It is a colorless, practically odorless, poisonous, and hygroscopic liquid with a sweetish taste. It is miscible in water, alcohol, ether, acetone, and ethylene glycol. DEG is a widely used solvent...
in place of glycerin. Zheng had been convicted of personally approving unproven and unsafe medicines after taking bribes from eight pharmaceutical companies totaling more than 6.49 million RMB
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
, (or a rough equivalent of 850,000 United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s), the former head of China's ministry of food and drug safety, which resulted in at least a hundred patient deaths (including directly and indirectly), or thousands according to the Chinese claims on the internet, and as a result, he was sentenced to death in the trial. It was also discovered during his eight year reign as the head of China's ministry of food and drug safety, Zheng personally ordered the approvals of more than 150,000 new medicines, an average of astonishing 134 times that of USA's FDA, which only approves 140 or so new medicines annually. Most of those 150,000 medicines were the products of the eight pharmaceutical companies that bribed Zheng, and a single unsafe medication of Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
Hua Yuan (华源) Company (since closed with its CEO committed suicide before his arrest) resulted 14 patient deaths and hundreds being permanently disabled, while several thousand fell seriously ill. Zheng's former deputy was also convicted, for accepting more than two million RMB
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
(or a rough equivalent of a quarter million US dollars) to help Zheng Xiaoyu. The former deputy was sentenced to a two year delayed death sentence and a new system for unsafe food recall would be implemented by the end of the year. However, the general public sentiment in China was that this was only the tip of the iceberg, because in the case of Zheng, the exact amount of the bribe was much higher than what has been revealed so far, and this is confirmed by Zheng's confession: in March 2007, Zheng admitted that the exact amount might never be known for sure because the 6.49 million was only what he accepted, and his wife and son also accepted separate huge amount of bribe which he was not part of, and the investigation on Zheng's family was still on-going.
Zheng entered an appeal for leniency on June 12, saying that the sentence was "too severe" citing the fact that he had confessed his crimes and cooperated with investigators. However, the court ruled that he was a "great danger" to the country and its reputation.
The appeal was rejected on June 22 and he was executed on July 10, 2007. State media did not initially report the method of execution, but it was later confirmed it was carried out by lethal injection, in a special van
Execution van
Execution vans, also referred to as "mobile execution units", were developed by the government of the People's Republic of China and were first used in 1997. Prisoners are strapped to a stretcher and executed via lethal injection inside the van. The vans allow for death sentences to be carried out...
in the prison grounds.