Q: What, if any, legal actions have been taken against Sanlu's foreign corporate partners and their foreign board members?

A: No legal action has been taken against Fonterra, the New Zealand dairy that partnered with Sanlu in 2005. Investigators didn't prove Fonterra was involved in Sanlu's crimes, namely the production and sale of products tainted with melemine.

As a shareholder of Sanlu Group – not the controlling shareholder – Fonterra had three members on Sanlu's board of directors. But it didn't participate in the daily operation of Sanlu and thus escaped accusation.

The investigation found that the dairy’s management team – including former executive Tian Wenhua, former vice president Wang Yuliang and former general manager Hang Zhiqi – played key roles in making decision to continue production and sales of the tainted products after they had knowledge of the contamination.

The latest trials were held for suspects directly involved in the crime, including diary farmers and milk station operators who produced and added melamine into fresh milk, as well as Sanlu's executives who allowed the sale of products after they were found to be poisoned.