A Jinshan district business owner has been sentenced to five years of probation and fined 2 million yuan ($324,000) for neglecting to supervise a contractor who dumped toxic wastewater into two rivers, the district government said Thursday.
The defendant, Luo Xiaodi, was charged with environmental pollution, according to a post on the microblog of the Jinshan district government. Luo owned Hongguang Electroplate Co, an electroplate manufacturer in the district.
Authorities began looking into the company after residents reported a strange odor coming from the Zhangjing and Zhongyun rivers in the district on June 3.
The investigation found that the rivers had been polluted, contaminating the source of the district's Zhangyan Water Plant, the government said. Many residents rushed out to buy bottled water.
Authorities identified Luo's company as the source of the chemicals that contaminated the rivers. They found that he had hired unqualified contractors to dispose of the wastewater from his electroplating operation.
The contractors lacked the personnel to properly dispose of the wastewater, but Luo failed to notice the problem.
The dumping ended up costing the district 1.38 million yuan in damages, the government said.
The district's environmental protection bureau had to pump in water from another river to dilute the chemicals. The district government declared the drinking water was safe on June 6.
Because Luo turned himself in to police, Jinshan District People's Court allowed him to serve five years of probation by suspending his three-year prison sentence.