Poisoning more than 30 people or causing the evacuation of over 5,000 as a result of pollution will lead to criminal charges, China said yesterday as it announced measures that included harsher punishments for breaches of environmental protection rules.
The nation is facing an uphill battle in curbing a deteriorating environment, a senior official said yesterday.
Pollution problems that developed countries had taken some 200 years to solve were now a major challenge for a nation experiencing rapid industrial development and urbanization, said Wan Bentai, chief engineer with the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
The environment is still getting worse, Wan said, and pollutants discharged in some regions far exceeded the environment's ability to cope.
China's supreme court and procuratorate yesterday jointly issued a new judicial explanation effective from today.
It lists 14 sorts of environmental pollution that will be considered crimes.
These include discharging, dumping or treating radioactive waste or waste containing infectious disease pathogens or toxic substances into sources of drinking water and nature reserves.
Pollution will also be a crime if it results in forcing more than 5,000 people to be evacuated or poisoning over 30 people.
Those who pollute near hospitals, schools and large residential areas will be considered serious offenders and face up to seven years in jail and fines.
"The new legal document confronts difficulties in investigating cases of environmental pollution and in convicting polluters," the two judicial departments said.
Before the judicial explanation, the law had not clearly defined what activities could result in criminal charges, said Hu Yunteng, a senior researcher with the supreme court. "Now it is clearer and easier for the judge to decide."
In its annual report released earlier, the environment ministry said China continued to face grave pollution problems despite overall improvements in air and water quality last year.
It described 2012 as a significant turning point after China's new leadership vowed to build a "beautiful China."
While it noted that overall environmental conditions did not get worse in 2012, "trends remained extremely serious."
The ministry said pollution of the countryside worsened in 2012 as a result of the encroachment of industry and mining and expansion in animal husbandry.
"With industrialization, urbanization and the modernization of agriculture, the situation for the rural environment has become grim," the report said.
More than 10 million hectares of farmland are polluted and heavy metals and pesticide residue that people ingest through food will greatly threaten public health, said Qian Guanlin, a national political adviser.
"Environmental pollution is a major cause of the high incidence of cancers in China," Qian said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security said police had detained 118 suspects involved in pollution cases since January.
Four cases involved 24 suspects who had been charged and were awaiting trial and there had been breakthroughs in others, it said.
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