Seven people were sentenced on Monday in Southwest China's Yunnan Province after they were convicted of polluting a local waterway, which reached such levels of pollution it was dubbed a "river of milk" in April, a court confirmed on Tuesday.

Eight people, including the legal representatives and major managers of three ore dressing or mining companies, were convicted of polluting the environment by a court in Xundian county, according to the Intermediate People's Court of Kunming, Yunnan Province.

Two of the eight were fined and sentenced to jail terms of one year and three months and eight months respectively, while five were also fined and received suspended jail sentences ranging from eight months to one year and two months. The three companies must pay fines of 500,000 yuan ($82,000) to 750,000 yuan, the court said. Media reports in April said that pollution caused the water in a 25-kilometer-long waterway in Kunming to turn milky white, and photos of the pollution triggered public anger.

Xinhua