BEIJING : The former boss of the company at the heart of China's tainted milk scandal has pleaded guilty to selling dodgy products and admitted she delayed reporting the danger, state media said Thursday.

Tian Wenhua, former head of Sanlu Group, told a court she was informed in May that children were falling ill from Sanul's products but she did not alert authorities until August, the China Daily reported, citing prosecutors.

She and three other company officials stood trial in the northern city of Shijiazhuang over a scandal that killed six children, sickened nearly 300,000, and prompted a worldwide recall of goods containing Chinese milk.

Foreign press were not allowed inside the Shijiazhuang courtroom although state-run media have been reporting on the proceedings.

The charges of "producing and selling fake or substandard" products carry a sentence of life imprisonment, lawyers for relatives of the victims told AFP, with the China Daily confirming that on Thursday.

Tian pleaded guilty to the charge, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

When contacted by AFP on Thursday, Tian's lawyer, Liu Xinwei, said it was "not convenient" to comment on the court proceedings, and would not confirm whether she had pleaded guilty.

In December 2007, Sanlu began receiving reports of babies suffering urinary problems after drinking the company's baby formula, prosecutors were reported telling the court.

The industrial chemical melamine was added to milk by suppliers seeking to give the appearance of higher protein content.

However, the company did not inform top executives such as Tian until May 17, the China Daily said.

Tian then launched an internal probe but Sanlu did not report the danger to authorities until August 2, when it told the city government of Shijiazhuang, where the company is based.

State media reported that the trial ended Wednesday night. It is not known when any verdicts will be announced.

In China, trials are often held behind closed doors and last just one day.

The four Sanlu executives are the highest profile figures hauled before the courts over the scandal, after 17 people -- mostly accused of being middlemen -- went on trial in recent days.

Those verdicts have yet to be announced, but some of the defendants could reportedly face the death penalty.

In all, 22 Chinese dairy firms were found to have sold tainted milk.

China tainted products scandal

- AFP /ls