Chinese police have referred to prosecutors the case of a father who campaigned over toxic baby formula. Zhao Lianhai, whose own child was made ill by the melamine contamination, is accused of trying to provoke social disorder.
The handover to prosecutors comes one day after the government announced a fresh crackdown on tainted milk products.
Zhao was detained in November by police, who say there is "ample evidence" to support a charge of provoking a serious disturbance.
Zhao set up a website for affected families and called for the creation of a national memorial day for victims. At least six babies died and 300,000 were taken ill after drinking products made by Sanlu, a dairy firm that closed as a result. The scare led to product recalls around the world.
"From September 2008 to September 2009, Zhao Lianhai used 'protecting rights' as well as the Sanlu milk powder issue as an excuse to hype and agitate people who did not know the truth to disturb social order ... by shouting slogans and illegal gathering," said the police statement, published on the blog of a lawyer.
The statement also cited Zhao's backing for a young woman who was raped by a guard while in an illegal detention house. Investigators said he had used her case "as a way to hype and agitate many people who did not know the truth and foreign media [to] gather at the [gate of the Beijing public security bureau], disturbing the area's social order."
The statement added that evidence included videos, witness accounts and a confession from Zhao.
Zhao's lawyer Peng Jian said it usually took around a month and a half for prosecutors to decide whether to press charges.
He added: "I cannot predict what the result will be because I heard the case has got a large amount of evidence, which I haven't had a chance to review yet. If he ends up being prosecuted we will defend him as not guilty."
Zhao was detained two hours after he and another father whose baby had been taken ill received an official apology from police in Haidian over their previous detention of the other man.
Yesterday, China announced a 10-day emergency campaign to root out tainted products – at least some of which had been confiscated when the scandal first broke out in late 2008. According to the state news agency Xinhua, they had been repackaged instead of being destroyed.
Melamine is normally used to make plastics and fertilisers. But when added to watered-down or poor quality milk, it appears to boost protein levels – allowing substandard products to pass nutrition tests.
Last month, it emerged that officials in Shanghai waited almost a year before warning the public that a company in the city was producing melamine-laced products.