Chinese Man Jailed for Life for Oil Made From Waste

A Chinese court sentenced a man to life in prison for the sale of cooking oil produced from the waste of meat processors as authorities crack down on food-safety violations.

Wang Chengkui, the legal representative for Kangrun Co., will also be deprived of his political rights for life and have all his assets confiscated, the Lianyungang Intermediate People’s Court said in a statement on its website. The oil Kangrun sold was produced using discarded materials such as skins, chicken buttocks and pig offal, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Premier Li Keqiang has promised to ensure food safety after incidents including tainted baby formula and chemicals in liquor sparked public outrage. That included a 2011 pledge by the State Council, China’s cabinet, to “thoroughly” destroy the production and sale of so-called “gutter oil.”

Kangrun sold more than 60 million yuan ($9.8 million) of its oil to 117 food makers or oil processors from January 2011 to March 2012, the court in the eastern province of Jiangsu said. Another 15 people were also given prison sentences for their roles, it said.