It was reported by the China Daily that people involved...

It was reported by the China Daily that people involved in the illegal production, trade, transportation and storage of toxic chemicals would face severe legal punishment, including the death penalty, from October 1.
The drastic measure was the result of a judicial interpretation on such cases, jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procurator, the Daily reported.
The interpretation was aimed at helping crack down on such criminal cases as using poisons to kill people.
Such cases had been widely reported across the nation, including a snack bar owner who was arrested in Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu Province after contaminating the food of his business rival with lethal rat poison, killing 38 people and leaving hundreds seriously ill, the daily said.
According to the interpretation, criminals charged with producing, trading, transporting and storing raw materials of toxic chemicals amounting to more than 500 grams, or insecticides of more than 20 kilograms would be sentenced to more than 10 years of imprisonment, life imprisonment or given the death penalty, depending on the case.
The same penalties apply in such cases leading to the severe injuring or death of more than three people or a serious loss of property worth more than 200,000 yuan (US$24,400), the Daily reported.