Snack firm bribed supermarket staff

Snack maker Po-Li Foods Industry (Kunshan) Co Ltd and another eight companies have been fined a total of some 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) and their illegal gains confiscated while 12 people have been punished for bribery, the city's market watchdog said on Monday.

The food manufacturer, based in Kunshan in neighboring Jiangsu Province, was found offering kickbacks to employees at supermarket chains that included Carrefour, RT-MART, Metro and Wal-Mart since January, 2013, to secure good product placement and boost sales, the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation said.

The kickbacks ranged from 4 to 10 percent of the purchase price, according to the administration, and Po-Li's illegal gains were 1.84 million yuan.

The supermarket employees who took the kickbacks disrupted fair market order, the administration said.

Po-Li was fined 100,000 yuan under China's unfair competition law.

The administration did not name the other eight companies offering bribes but said that, in total, about 900 people were involved.