Execs in melamine scandal beg for leniency

SHANGHAI - Two of the three executives from Shanghai Panda Dairy Co Ltd who were convicted of selling recycled melamine-tainted milk products last year made a case for leniency at their second trial on Wednesday. The two appealed their sentences after their initial trial last month.

The three were sentenced in March by the Shanghai Fengxian district court to three to five years in jail for producing and selling toxic food, a charge that has a maximum penalty of death.

The two on trial at the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday were Wang Yuechao, the company's board chairman, and Hong Qide, the general manager. The third employee, Chen Dehua, deputy general manager of the company, appeared in court with his two former colleagues.