Polluters fined for damaging environment

Fines exceeding 686 million yuan ($99.5 million) were exacted from polluters in the first 10 months of this year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Wednesday.

Over the same period, more than 6,000 companies have had pieces of equipment that were contaminating the environment shut down by the authorities, a year-on-year increase of 90 percent, said Tian Weiyong, head of the ministry's Environmental Inspection Bureau.

"Implementation of the revised Environmental Protection Law has grown stronger, thus the number of companies that have been punished under the law has also increased compared to last year," he said.

At least 1,700 people determined to be responsible for polluting the environment have also been detained in the first 10 months, an 86 percent year-on-year increase.

In addition, 1,501 cases related to pollution were transferred to judicial organs for further investigation between January and October, a 21 percent year-on-year increase, the ministry said.

It further praised Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces for strongly implementing the revised law in the first 10 months.