A Chinese court is set to sentence 21 defendants implicated in a tainted milk powder scandal Thursday afternoon, about three weeks after trials late last month, a court spokesman has said.

The 21 defendants included four former senior executives of the Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group, the dairy at the center of the scandal, on charges of manufacturing and selling fake or substandard products, said a spokesman with the Hebei Provincial Higher People's Court.

Also set for sentencing are 17 others who have been found to produce, add melamine-laced "protein powder" to milk or sell the tainted milk to Sanlu or other dairies, the spokesman said.

Among them, six were accused of endangering public security by dangerous means, and 11 others were charged with manufacturing and selling toxic food, he said.

The sentences would be announced at the Shijiazhuang Municipal Intermediate People's Court on Thursday afternoon, he added.

The court session would be opened at 2:00 PM.

No further details were provided.

The 21 defendants went on trial between December 26 and 31 at the Shijiazhuang court.

The four executives included Tian Wenhua, Sanlu's former board chairwoman and general manager, two former deputy general managers Wang Yuliang and Hang Zhiqi, and a former executive in charge of the company's milk procurement division, Wu Jusheng. They were arrested on September 26 and stood trial on December 31.

Tian, 66, pleaded guilty to the charges against her at the trial on December 31 that lasted about 14 hours. But the pleas for the other defendants were not known.

Liu Xinwei, Tian's lawyer, has told reporters that Tian might not be sentenced to death.

"According to the criminal law, there is no capital punishment for the crime of manufacturing and selling fake or substandard products. Therefore, the most severe penalty for her would be life imprisonment," Liu said.

"For now, it's hard to say whether she would lodge an appeal," Liu said.

From August 2 to September 12 last year, Sanlu Group produced 904 tonnes of melamine-tainted baby formula powder and sold 813 tonnes of the tainted products, making 47.5 million yuan (US$6.9 million).

The Ministry of Health said it was likely the tainted milk scandal with Sanlu Group at its center killed at least six babies. Another 294,000 infants suffered kidney stones and other urinary problems.

Sanlu Group, partly owned by New Zealand dairy product giant Fonterra, stopped production on September 12. A bankruptcy petition for Sanlu has been filed in the face of a 1.1 billion yuan debt.

On December 19, the group borrowed 902 million yuan to pay the medical fees of children sickened by its melamine-tainted baby formula and to compensate the victims.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2009)