China disciplines 80 officials linked to major vaccine scandal
Beijing, Feb 2 : China's corruption watchdog on Saturday said it had disciplined more than 80 officials linked to a vaccine scandal last year that inflamed public fears over the safety of domestically produced drugs.
Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology -- a major Chinese manufacturer of rabies vaccines -- was slapped with a USD 1.3 billion fine in October after it was found to have fabricated records.
Four officials from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), including former deputy director Wu Zhen, have been handed over to prosecutors, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement Saturday.
State-run news agency Xinhua detailed the allegations against Wu including nepotism and taking bribes. He has also been expelled from the Communist Party, it said.
"Being 'ruthless to the people', Wu allegedly abused his power in drug regulation, severely jeopardising the state's supervision over drugs," Xinhua said, citing the graft watchdog.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection also said it would "seriously deal with" more than 80 other provincial or local officials from multiple government organisations, without offering details.
These officials have already been fired or demoted, it said.
Authorities earlier said the faulty rabies vaccines did not enter the market. But the case provoked outrage from customers fed up with recurring product-safety scandals, particularly in the drug sector.
The drug company's chairwoman and 14 employees were arrested after the scandal came to light last July, while more than a dozen national, provincial and local officials were sacked.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
