Chinese weed killer firm slapped with province's biggest pollution fine, staff jailed
Manufacturer of weed killer in Zhejiang province fined 75 million yuan
A court in eastern Zhejiang province has fined a manufacturer of weed killer 75 million yuan (HK$95 million) and jailed the company's employees and contractors for discharging waste water that severely polluted streams in the area.
The fine levied by the Longyou county court on Jinfanda Biochemical - which makes the herbicide, glyphosate - was the largest ever for a polluter in the province, state media reported on Tuesday.
Zhejiang is one of the most prosperous but also most polluted provinces on the mainland.
Rapid economic growth and lax enforcement of regulations over the past decades have caused severe environmental damage throughout the country.
Beijing has promised to strictly enforce environmental laws and severely punish polluters in response to rising demands from citizens that air, water and soil be cleaned up.
Last December, a court in Jiangsu province ordered six companies to pay 160 million yuan for discharging waste chemicals into rivers. It was then the country's biggest environmental fine.