Top court official's vow gives hope to families of milk scandal victims

A senior Supreme People's Court official's promise that mainland courts were ready to accept civil claims over the melamine milk scandal offered a ray of hope for victims' families, lawyers said yesterday.

During a live webcast on People .com.cn on Monday, deputy court president Shen Deyong said more than 95 per cent of the 300,000 families affected by the tainted formula had accepted payouts from dairy companies, but a small number of families wanted to pursue compensation claims through the courts.

'People's courts are ready in this regard and will accept the lawsuits for compensation at any time according to the law,' Mr Shen said.

It was the first time a court official had clearly stated the mainland's legal system should address the issue, and it came after some lawyers had been warned not to represent the families and their compensation applications were repeatedly rejected.

'The tainted-milk scandal was a major public incident, and the major principle in settling this is that the companies responsible realise their obligation to offer compensation ... and courts accept the lawsuits for compensation,' Mr Shen said.

Parents' spokesman Zhao Lianhai said he and other parents were 'very happy about the news', adding: 'We really welcome the change and we will continue to pursue compensation through legal procedures.'

He said that last week the Ministry of Health gave him a letter saying that if victims of tainted milk powder 'didn't accept compensation offers from the dairy firms, they could apply through the courts for compensation'. Mr Zhao said the letter was a 'joint response to petitions submitted by many families'.