Corruption No Light Matter in China

The Communist government in China does not mess around when it comes to punishing government employees who are viewed as failures. According to USA Today, the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration was given a death sentence Tuesday for taking money from drug companies and signing off on unsafe machines:

The sentence, announced by state media, comes as China is under growing domestic and international pressure to clean up its food and drug sectors after a series of scandals, including the poisoning of hundreds of American pets.

Zheng Xiaoyu, director of China's State Food and Drug Administration from 1998 to 2005, was convicted of dereliction of duty and taking more than $832,000 in cash and gifts, according to state news agency Xinhua.

An antibiotic OK'd under Zheng was withdrawn from the market last year after 10 patients died, state media reported. Six types of fake drugs were approved while he led the agency, according to state-run media.