China advances process to indict man over tainted food case+

BEIJING, July 14 Kyodo -
Chinese authorities have steadily advanced the process to indict a Chinese man
in connection with dumplings poisoning cases in Japan and China, Japanese
police said Wednesday.
The National Police Agency said it would take more than a month for Chinese
prosecutors to indict the suspect, Lu Yueting, a former temporary employee at
Tianyang Food's plant in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province.
''The Chinese side has steadily promoting investigations (into the case) toward
indictment,'' Norikazu Koyama, a councilor for criminal investigation affairs
at the NPA, told reporters in Beijing after a Japanese police team he led
inspected the plant and held talks with local police over the case.
Ten people in Japan became ill in December 2007 and January 2008 after eating
pesticide-laced frozen dumplings shipped from the plant.
Chinese police have determined that Lu, 36, was responsible for the incident in
Japan and a similar case in China. But it had been unclear which cases
prosecutors would indict him.
''Investigative cooperation (between the two sides) has steadily advanced so as
to get the whole picture of the incident,'' Koyama said.
Asked whether Japanese police will send a paper pertaining to Lu's case to
prosecutors, Koyama said the police will study such a possibility.
The food poisoning case in Japan sparked concerns in the country over the
safety of foods imported from China.
During the visit to the Tianyang Food plant earlier Wednesday, the Japanese
police team, on a four-day trip to China through Thursday, inspected sites
including one where Lu worked and another where Lu was suspected to have
injected methamidophos into frozen dumplings with a syringe, according to
Koyama.
Koyama, however, declined to comment on details about the investigations.
On Tuesday, the Japanese police team held talks with Chinese Public Security
Ministry officials in Beijing.
Chinese media reported in early April that police had arrested Lu in connection
with the cases. He allegedly laced the dumplings with poison out of frustration
with his salary and relations with fellow employees.
==Kyodo
2010-07-15 00:13:34