In a landmark case, a Nanjing court has handed out fines totalling ¥520 million for environmental damage to the Yangtze River. The case, that is the largest of its kind ever heard in China, also appears in the court’s ten top outstanding cases of 2019.
It was back in 2014 when the offender, a Nanjing-based sewage treatment company, began its polluting discharge into the river. The environmental damage continued for 3 years, while the company also tampered with data from online monitoring systems.
The case has come to light now as Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court revealed its top ten of 2019 on 6 January. Unsurprisingly, media all over the country have taken to reporting the story, including Shanghai-based East Money.
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The fact that the offending company goes unidentified is most surprising, however. Analysts believe this points to the polluter possibly being a State-Owned Company.
Largest-Ever Fine for Environmental Damage in China
The court found that the general manager of the company, identified only as Zheng, was complicit in the polluting behaviour. Zheng and 12 others were found guilty of environmental pollution crimes and were handed sentences of 1 to 6 years. They also each received fines of between ¥50,000 and ¥2 million.
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Such penalties pale in comparison to those levied on the wastewater treatment plant. The court ordered a fine of ¥50 million and that it repay ¥470 million in environmental restoration costs.
With a total of ¥520 million, the presiding judge referred to it as the “severest ticket” for environmental damage in China.
Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court wasted no time in rejecting Zheng’s appeal of the verdict.
