Life in jail for China dumpling poisoner

BEIJING // A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a former food plant worker to life in prison for poisoning frozen dumplings that sickened 10 people in Japan in 2008 and strained relations with Tokyo just months before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The incident prompted a recall of millions of bags of dumplings, and Chinese food products taken off shelves in Japan out of safety worries.

A court in the northeastern city of Shijiazhuang sentenced Lu Yueting, 39, to life in prison, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Lu had been dissatisfied with his wages and, in late 2007, injected insecticide into several boxes of frozen dumplings to get attention from his managers.

The products later were sold in Japan and in the Chinese city of Chengdu, sickening at least four people.

Lu was detained in 2010 after more than two years of investigations. He contaminated the dumplings with methamidophos, a type of pesticide, compounding widespread fears about the safety of Chinese food exports.

* Associated Press