Chinese Coca-Cola product Pulpy Milky 'was poisoned'

A Chinese child who died after drinking a Coca-Cola product last month was the victim of poisoning, officials in Jilin province say.

The 11-year-old died and three others became ill after drinking bottles of Pulpy Milky in Changchun.

Tests showed that the drink contained pesticides.

The incident sparked a mass recall of Pulpy Milky, but police and officials say the bottles were sabotaged and there appeared to be no wider issue.

Coca-Cola repeatedly insisted that the poisoning had nothing to do with quality control.

And wider tests on its products showed that there was no contamination.

"The police's technical tests and investigations have preliminarily confirmed that this incident is a criminal case in Changchun, which reaffirms that it is not related in any way to our product quality," Coca-Cola said in an emailed statement to Reuters news agency.

The Jilin authorities confirmed the poisoning, but did not speculate as to who might have carried it out.

Someone had "deliberately adulterated" the drink with a toxic substance and caused a threat to public security, a statement said.

An 11-year-old boy died after he drank strawberry flavoured Pulpy Milky yoghurt drink on 28 November. His mother became severely ill after consuming the same drink, and is still in hospital.

Another mother and her daughter became ill after drinking a bottle of the same drink in Jilin a few days earlier. They have since recovered.