Law enforcement says more than 3,500 were prosecuted in the first 10 months of the year – a 40 per cent increase on the previous yearGovernment push to tackle problem has been hampered by local authorities turning a blind eye to polluting businesses
China prosecuted more than 3,500 people for pollution-related crimes in the first 10 months of the year, up nearly 40 per cent on a year ago, law enforcement authorities said on Friday.
China has struggled to enforce its environmental laws as growth-obsessed local governments turn a blind eye to polluting local enterprises, and it has been trying to ensure violations are properly punished.
China’s procuratorate said at a Thursday briefing that it would show “zero tolerance” for environmental crimes, adding that it also prosecuted nearly 8,500 people for the wider offence of “damaging resources” in the first 10 months, up 44 per cent.
The number of criminal prosecutions is still small compared to the nearly 130,000 environmental violations reported in the first nine months of the year, leading to fines of 10.
