Shut out of the court system, Xing Guohui from Zhengzhou City in Henan Province said he was roughed up when he tried to seek compensation from the retailer and manufacturer of Yili milk, which he had drunk over a period of about seven years.
An athlete, Xing won the weightlifting gold medal at the third and fourth Zhengzhou City Paralympics Games, and was ranked sixth in the weightlifting competition of the Sixth National Paralympics Games.
In February of this year Xing was diagnosed with an unusually large kidney stone which took four procedures and one surgery to remove at a cost of more than 6,000 yuan (US$900).
After the surgery, he continued to drink Yili milk until September, when news broke that Yili milk powder contained toxic melamine.
“After my surgery in February, I still have problems with urination. Each time I can only urinate a little, and I feel like urinating whenever I drink water, but urination is painful,” said Xing.
Because the courts in the province are not hearing any cases related to tainted milk, Xing sought compensation directly from Star Supermarket where he bought the milk, as well as Yili’s general agent in Henan and the manufacturer, Yili Group.
When he got no satisfaction, Xing made a banner and set up a protest outside Star Supermarket, but before long he was forcefully driven away by security officers. He said he was pushed to the ground from his wheelchair three times and his hand was cut from the scuffle.
After another clash when Xing was again driven away, Yili and the supermarket agreed to talk to him. However he has not heard from them since.
“I have always tried to contact the supermarket and the manufacturer”, Xing said, “Now the supermarket blocks my entrance, and we clashed several times. I am disabled, but I was dragged down from my wheelchair several times. I am a consumer, yet the court refuses to take my case. I am helpless.”
Chang Boyang, a lawyer from Henan Province who has taken on some tainted milk cases, said the courts are currently not hearing any such cases.
“Now the court does not take any tainted milk cases,” Chang said. “As far as I know, the central government is now researching and handling this issue, and we have to wait.”
Regarding Xing’s experience, Chang said that if an individual asks for compensation, the factory or business involved will not agree to it.
“Perhaps they have received notice that the government is going to handle this. [The factories] have not considered the compensation issue because they hope the government will handle it. I have been in contact with the Sanlu Group. They do not have any compensation plan and said that they would wait for the central government’s decision. They will not compensate individuals.”