BEIJING - LAWYERS advising victims of China's spreading tainted milk scandal said on Tuesday they faced growing pressure from officials in central China to withdraw from the cases.

The families of many of the children sickened by milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine have been turning to a loose grouping of more than a hundred lawyers across China for free legal advice, said Mr Chang Boyang, one of the lawyers.

The tainted milk has been blamed in the deaths of four babies and for sickening more than 54,000 children and shaken confidence worldwide in Chinese exports.

The government has been struggling to show the public that it is dealing successfully with the scandal, which comes on the heels of the widely praised Beijing Olympics.

On Monday, the State Council, China's Cabinet, acknowledged that the dairy industry was 'chaotic' and had suffered from a grave lack of oversight, while pledging to monitor milk products from farm to dinner table.

But the government has also imposed controls on media coverage of the crisis, suggesting it does not want it to become a focal point of public dismay.

At least 14 lawyers from Henan province who have been advising people affected by the scandal were told by officials from the provincial government's justice department to stop their activities, Mr Chang told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.

'They called me and my boss at my law firm and put pressure on me,' Mr Chang said. 'They said that this has become a political issue and that I ought to follow the arrangements set out by the government.'

'If this suggestion is disobeyed, the lawyer and the firm will be dealt with,' Mr Chang cited the official as saying.

Henan's justice department could not immediately be reached for comment.

Chinese authorities believe suppliers who were trying to cut costs diluted milk, then added melamine to fool quality control tests and make the product appear rich in protein. The chemical can cause kidney stones as the body tries to eliminate it and, in extreme cases, can lead to life-threatening kidney failure.

The State Council has ordered hospitals to provide free treatment for sick infants, but the lawyers want the government to compensate the victims.

Lawyers in the group have already helped the parents of a 1-year-old boy allegedly sickened by compromised milk to file a lawsuit against Sanlu Group Co., the dairy at the center of the crisis.

The baby's medical bills are not covered under the State Council's directive because he became sick before the scandal broke on Sept 12, according to a report by Caijing, a leading Chinese business magazine. Free medical care is only available to those sickened after that date.

The court in Henan has still not said if it will hear the case, which was filed late last month and is believed to be the first suit filed amid the scandal.

Mr Chang said the lawyers have been preparing other clients for a potential joint lawsuit if the government continues to refuse to provide compensation.

Mr Chang said although he and the other lawyers from Henan took their names off the list of volunteers for the group of lawyers, they still continued to field calls and offer advice.

'This incident will not affect my work. I was just giving the authorities 'face' by taking my name off the list,' Mr Chang said.

'Sometimes you've got to learn to compromise.'

The scandal - which has spread overseas with Chinese milk products pulled out of stores in dozens of countries - has forced the government to fire local and even high-level officials for negligence, and make repeated promises to raise product safety standards.

China's iconic White Rabbit candy fell victim to the scandal after its Shanghai-based maker said it may have been tainted. The candy was pulled off supermarket shelves in the US, Europe and Asia. But a state-run newspaper said on Tuesday it is now back in production.

Guan Sheng Yuan Co. did not say when White Rabbit candy would go on sale again, according to China Daily. The company could not be immediately contacted Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's vice minister of health, Cao Minh Quang, said on Tuesday that 23 milk products had tested positive for melamine.

The country has already recalled 300 tons of products, most imported from China, said chief health ministry inspector Tran Quang Trung.

The country's top quality supervision agency said on Tuesday new tests on liquid dairy products sold domestically found no traces of melamine, official Xinhua News Agency reported. -- AP