Chinese Toy Exec Commits Suicide After Recall

China banned exports from the company
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 13, 2007 7:59 AM CDT
Chinese Toy Exec Commits Suicide After Recall
Shelves are near empty after Fisher-Price toys were pulled from area shelves in a voluntary recall leaving toy sections like the one at a local Target store Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007, in Phoenix. Fisher-Price recalled 83 types of popular toys numbering nearly a million units including Big Bird, Elmo, Dora...   (Associated Press)

The head of a Chinese company that made a million of the lead-tainted toys recalled by Mattel last month hanged himself in his warehouse this weekend. Zhang Shuhong's  suicide followed the announcement Thursday that China banned exports from his company because of the defects. Colleagues reported that Zhang had been sold the tainted paint by his best friend.

The Mattel recall, which included Fisher-Price branded toys featuring characters such as Big Bird and Elmo, was the second major toy recall because of lead paint; two months ago 1.5 million wooden Thomas the Tank Engine toys were also recalled. The factory that made those toys was also included in the export ban announced by China Thursday. (More toys stories.)

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