Environment officer gets 6 years for pollution

An environment agency official in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was sentenced to six years in prison on Tuesday for his role in the pollution of a river in July 2013.

Huang Qiang, former director of environmental monitoring at the municipal environment bureau of Hezhou,took bribes from Huiwei,an ore processor who polluted in the Hejiang River, according to Babu District people's court.

Huang took 50,000 yuan (8,150 U.S. dollars) in cash and gifts of tobacco and alcohol from the owner of Huiwei in May 2013, in exchange for helping the company get a pollutant discharge permit to which they were not entitled. Learning that the company had been involved in poisoning the Hejiang, Huang returned the 50,000 yuan.

The court also found that Huang took bribes of 24,000 yuan from others when serving in Huangtian Township in Hezhou City in 2012. Personal assets of 34,000 yuan were confiscated.

The pollution of the Hejiang River was discovered in early July 2013 when dead fish were spotted. Investigation suggested that the pollutants were thallium and cadmium, both toxic to humans.