2 sentenced for polluting local river

Two men who discharged unprocessed waste water laced with toxic materials into a river have been jailed by Shanghai Railway Transportation Court.

In December 2017, one of the two, identified as Ma Cheng, cleaned waste oil tanks in suburban Shanghai and directly dumped the waste water into a nearby river via the rainwater drainage system, which caused severe water pollution, court said.

Soon, the dumping was noticed by a local village committee. Villagers ordered Ma to clean the river water. Ma asked a relative, identified as Ma Qiang, to handle the villagers and pay compensation. In the meantime, he allowed more waste water to flow into the river, court said.

Tests showed the waste water contained toxins listed as dangerous materials. The court refused to reveal what these materials exactly were.

According to the court, the two illegally discharged waste water and severely polluted the river, a tributary of the Yangtze River. Ma Cheng was sentenced to one year behind bars and Ma Qiang was sentence to eight months and 15 days behind bars.