LOCAL supermarket chain I-Tec was fined the maximum of $5,000 in a district court on Thursday for displaying melamine-tainted strawberry milk for sale at its Serangoon Road outlet.

The product should have been pulled from the shelves.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority had issued an order on Sept 19 through the media that it was suspending the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China.

The court heard that the company, which was the first to be charged with the offence in October, continued to display 50 bottles of Dutch Lady brand of strawberry milk.

They were found out after The Sunday Times alerted the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority the following day.

During a check by the AVA, a store supervisor claimed that the products were merely being displayed and not sold, even though The Sunday Times reporter, who was also present, managed to buy two packets of Monmilk - another brand from China on shelves.

Lawyer Adrian Chong, who represented I-Tec, told the court that his client is a 'traditional chinese-cultured company.'

Pleading for leniency, he said that the I-Tec did not take the products off its shelves as its head office had received the AVA order after working hours.

He also stressed that there were no reports of anyone here being sickened by the milk.

Before passing sentence, District Judge Eugene Teo gave a stern warning to I-Tech that it had a responsibility in ensuring public health safety.

He said: 'There is no room for excuse and tolerance for indifference.'

Days before the order, China was rocked by a health scare when it was found that food manufacturers there had added melamine to its dairy products.

Melamine is an industrial chemical and is harmful when consumed. At least four children in China have died from consuming melamine-tainted products and nearly 300,000 have fallen ill.