Tainted Milk Victims to Recieve $160 Million

An association of 22 Chinese dairy companies that sold melamine-contaminated milk earlier this year announced they would pay $160 million to the victims.

So far, six children have died and 300,000 have been sickened. The payout is about $550 per victim, or about three months of wages at a typical factory in southern China, the New York Times reports.

But lawyers for the victims and their families say the have advised their clients to reject the offer because it is far too low, the Associated Press reports.

The compensation plan calls for $131 million in a one-time cash payment and another $29 million for long-term health problems. According to state media, the families of children who died would get about $29,000, while families with very ill children would receive $4,400. Families with children who suffered from kidney stones as a result of the contamination would receive about $300.

Xu Zhiyong, a lawyer for the team that is representing 63 families harmed by the contamination said that the offer was not only low, but did not include input from the victims. His team has tried several times to sue the companies involved but their attempts have all been rejected by the Chinese courts.

This week, 17 people have been charged with endangering public security for their involvement in the melamine contamination of milk. Some of them face the death penalty.