Cheng Caiming and another 14 suspects appeared in court in Guangzhou on Tuesday on charges of making and selling toxic liquor that claimed 15 lives and sickened 39.

Five principle suspects including Cheng, Yizhuqi, Yi Huifa, Yi Yaoxue and Zheng Guangyue could face the death penalty if convicted in the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court.

The families of the victims are demanding 3 million yuan (US$362,000) in compensation from the suspects.

The suspects, aged from 18 to 65, are mainly from Guangning County in Guangdong Province and Guanyang County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The Guangzhou procuratorate said Cheng Caiming, head of former Guangzhou Juhe Company, sold methanol as drinking alcohol for profit in May, causing the deaths of 14 people.

Yi Xinling, sales manager of the Guangzhou Jinye Company, was accused of selling sub-standard alcohol.

The two companies' licenses were revoked by the Guangzhou industrial and commercial administration.

Yi Zhuqi and other three members were charged with illegally manufacturing poisonous alcohol without being licensed.

Two people were reported to have died and another two admitted to hospital after drinking illicit liquor in Baiyun District on May 11.

Tests showed that Duan Dongshu, 58, drank the liquor on May 10 and an analysis found it had contained more than 29 percent of lethal methanol.

Methanol is extremely toxic and a mere 5.6 grams could be fatal to an adult.

Authorities took immediate action and discovered the source of the illicit brew was Zhongluotan and Taihe townships in Baiyun District.

The authorities traced the distribution to an illegal wine shop on the evening of May 11 after Deng's death. A number of barrels of illegal liquor were confiscated, the report said.

Investigation showed some barrels of the liquor were sold in neighboring Huadu District.

The Guangzhou quality and technical supervision bureau had confiscated 95 tons of distilled spirit for analysis and five unlicensed rice wine workshops were closed. The bureau established a daily reporting system to monitor the progress of inspections.

(Shenzhen Daily December 9, 2004)