6 Chinese go on trial for selling melamine

Six Chinese suspects went on trial Friday accuse of making and selling the industrial chemical at the center of the tainted milk scandal blamed for killing six children and sickening nearly 300,000 others.

Among those in court Friday was the owner of a workshop that was allegedly the country's largest source of melamine, the substance responsible for the health crisis that also saw Chinese food products pulled from stores worldwide, state media said.

Police say Zhang Yujun, 40, ran a workshop on the outskirts of Jinan in eastern Shandong province that manufactured and sold a "protein powder" compose mainly of melamine and malt dextrin, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The powder was added to watered-down milk to make it appear higher in protein content.

Prosecutors in the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court accused Zhang of producing 776 tons of the additive powder from October 2007 through August 2008, making it the largest source of melamine in the country. He allegdly sold more that 600 tons with a total value of $1 million, the court heard.

In the same case, a second man, Zhang Yanzhang, 24, was accuse of buying and reselling 230 tons of powder to others.

State televition showed both men in court in hand cuffs with their heads bowed while being questioned by three judges. It was noy immediately clear what penalties they face.

An official at the publicity office of Hebei Supreme Courts across Hebei province for adding the chemical to raw milk and then selling it to Sanlu Group Co., the main company in the scandal, according to Xinhua.

Melamine can artificially inflate protein levels and was apparently added to watered-down milk to fool quality inspectors while boosting profits.

Zhang Heshe and Zhang Taizhen were accused of adding 35 kilograms of the "protein powder" to 70 tons of raw milk and then selling it to Sanlu. Yang Jingmin ang Gu Guoping were also charged with adding 24 kilograms and 16.7 kilograms of melamine, respectively.

The verdicts will be announced at an unspecified date, Xinhua reported.