Environmental security

China punishes officials over sewage in first environmental case of its kind

Chinese prosecutors have successfully sued a county environmental agency for inadequately punishing a sewage firm that produced dye without appropriate safeguards – the first such public interest case against a government department.

The Supreme People’s Procuratorate, China’s top prosecutor, said prosecutors had successfully proved that an environmental protection department in Shandong province had committed “illegal acts” in its dealings with the Qingshun Chemical Technology Company.

The case was filed in December 2015 in the Qingyun county court, with such departments coming under increasing scrutiny amid growing public discontent over pollution.