CCTV broadcasts fresh bribery claims against baby formula firm Dumex
CCTV claims staff in Beijing and five provinces bribed to feed product to babies
Chinese state media yesterday broadcast further allegations of bribery against Dumex, a baby formula subsidiary of French food and beverage giant Danone.
CCTV last week quoted a former Dumex sales manager alleging the company had bribed hospital staff in the city of Tianjin to feed its milk powder to newborn babies.
But the television channel yesterday expanded its claims, saying Dumex had paid out nearly 500,000 yuan in bribes in April alone to doctors and nurses in Beijing and five northern provinces - Heilongjiang , Hebei , Liaoning , Jilin , and Inner Mongolia - as well as Tianjin.
It also hinted the investigation may widen further, saying: "The evidence of bribery obtained by the CCTV reporter covers only the northern region, and Dumex operates in six major regions in China."
Dumex said yesterday in an e-mail to the South China Morning Post: "Dumex pays great attention to CCTV's reports. A thorough investigation was launched a few days ago and is ongoing. The report will be available before October 1."
The anonymous whistle-blower provided CCTV with a personal computer used by senior Dumex executives, which contained suspicious data on Dumex's payments to hospital staff.