Taiwanese Candy Firm Held Liable in Child’s Death

SAN FRANCISCO — A Superior Court judge on Friday ordered a Taiwanese candy company to pay $50 million to the parents of a 2-year-old boy said to have choked and died while eating a now-banned treat.

Jeffrey Jing of Boston died in February 2001 after choking on candy produced by Sheng Hsiang Jen Foods Co. of Taiwan, according to a lawsuit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court.

The Lychee Flavor Mini Gel Snack, a thick and gooey flavored candy, was said to have lodged in the boy’s throat. Eight months after the boy’s death, the Food and Drug Administration banned the candy’s sale in the United States.

The company defaulted on the case last month after it stopped responding to the lawsuit. Company representatives were not in court when Judge Mark Forcum issued the judgment.

Company representatives could not be reached for comment.

California attorney Mike Danko, who represented the boy’s parents, said he is researching Taiwanese law to determine how to collect the judgment on behalf of the boy’s father and mother, Hongli Jing and Aibing Li Jing.

“We need to go to Taiwan and seek to enforce it. It’s very difficult to force a judgment in Taiwan,” he said.

It is the second judgment against the company this year. In May, a Santa Clara County jury awarded $16.7 million to the family of a San Jose girl who died in 2001 after choking on the same type of candy.