The parents of the first Chinese child killed by tainted milk formula have received $29,000 compensation, with the government hoping the payments and a trial will quell popular anger.
The toxic milk powder killed at least six children and made nearly 300,000 ill last year.
Melamine, a cheap additive used to fool quality checks, is a chemical used in plastics, flame retardants and cement. It was added to watered down or sub-standard milk because its high nitrogen levels mimicked protein in nutrition tests.
The five-month-old son of Yi Yongsheng and Jiao Hongfang died in May from kidney stones and agonising complications after drinking tainted formula.
The couple, farmers in northwest China's Gansu province, were given 200,000 yuan by Sanlu Group as part of a compensation drive orchestrated by the government, which has faced bitter complaints from the families of the some 296,000 children affected by the tainted milk.
By taking the money, the grieving couple have to give up any chance of suing in court over the death.
Sanlu, which is part owned by New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra,
failed to report cases of Chinese children developing kidney stones and other complications from drinking their milk months before the scandal broke in September.
The melamine scandal has battered faith in China-made products after a series of other food and product-safety scares, and led to recalls of China-made dairy products around the world.
Some parents have said they will refuse to accept compensation, calling it too little for the failure of Sanlu and other Chinese dairy companies to block melamine.
Sanlu and other dairy companies have offered 200,000 yuan for families whose children died, 30,000 yuan for serious illness, and 2,000 yuan for less severe cases.
Executives from Sanlu are awaiting sentencing after trial late last year. They have been accused of covering up the spreading scandal.
The former general manager of Sanlu Group, Tian Wenhua, 66, pleaded guilty to charges of "producing and selling fake or substandard products".
