BEIJING: - Chinese families whose babies died after drinking tainted formula milk will each receive 200,000 yuan (S$42,000) in compensation, state media reported yesterday.

The families with babies who developed health problems and had to be hospitalised will receive between 30,000 and 50,000 yuan each, the official China Daily said.

The payouts will come from a US$160 million (S$230 million) compensation fund set up by 22 Chinese dairy firms which sold contaminated milk formula.

At least six babies in China died this year and another 294,000 fell ill after drinking milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine, which is normally used to make plastic.

Melamine was mixed into the watered-down milk to make it appear richer in protein. But the chemical caused severe kidney and urinary tract problems in babies who drank the tainted formula.

The scandal, which emerged in September after initially being covered up, shook the foundations of a Chinese food industry that was already beset by repeated safety problems.

It quickly became a global concern after contaminated Chinese milk products were found abroad.

According to the China Business News, the new fund will come into effect from January and pay for medical treatment and operations for diseases caused by the tainted milk.

In total, the firms will pay out more than 900 million yuan in cash and set up a 200-million-yuan medical fund to cover bills for any lingering health problems, the China Business News reported.

The China Daily said a total of about 13.5 billion yuan would be needed to compensate all the victims.

China Life, the country's largest life insurer, has been appointed to manage the fund, the China Business News said, adding that the government had ordered the firms to pay the compensation.

However, one lawyer representing victims of the scandal said the amount put forward by the milk companies was not enough to provide for all the victims, and criticised the whole compensation process.

'I have seen only the news reports, but from what I have seen the amount of money being put forward is not enough, the payments will be too low,' said Mr Li Fanping, who is representing the families of about 100 victims of the scandal.

'This compensation plan has not been an open process. The victims and consumers were not allowed to participate. They should have the right to go through a judicial process to seek compensation and it is not clear if this will happen.'

Numerous lawsuits demanding compensation for victims of the scandal have so far been rejected by Chinese courts.

Lawyers for victims have said the government had warned them not to sue, possibly because it fears a slew of potentially costly lawsuits that would also attract bad publicity.

The trials of six suspects accused of manufacturing, trading or adding melamine to dairy products began last Friday in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, where the company at the heart of the scandal - Sanlu Group - is based.

Nine more people went on trial yesterday, state media reported. All 15 on trial have been charged with producing and selling melamine.

The head of Sanlu, Tian Wenhua, is scheduled to go before a Shijiazhuang court tomorrow.

Sanlu, which halted production on Sept 12, has filed for bankruptcy and is some 1.1 billion yuan in debt, Xinhua said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS