Wal-Mart China head steps down after pork scandal

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The head of Wal-Mart's China business has quit, the US retailer said on Monday, after Chinese authorities temporarily shut down over a dozen stores found to be selling pork falsely labelled as organic.

Ed Chan left ''for personal reasons," Wal-Mart said in a statement, adding that another senior China executive, Clara Wong, has also resigned.

Their departure comes after authorities in the southwestern city of Chongqing detained Wal-Mart staff and ordered the company to pay more than $420,000 in fines and other penalties.

The statement made no mention of the so-called 'green' pork incident, which was widely reported in Chinese media.

Wal-Mart said last week it had shut 13 Chongqing stores for 15 days "so as to concentrate our efforts on completing corrective actions and taking all necessary steps to ensure this does not recur".

Wal-Mart opened its first stores in Chongqing in 2006 and has so far been punished 21 times for various problems, including selling food past its expiry date and false advertising, according to Chinese media reports.

The company entered China in 1996 and had 189 outlets in 101 cities by August last year, according to its website.

Scott Price, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart Asia, will serve as interim leader for China until a new head for operations is appointed, the company said.