Guiding Case No. 4 of the Supreme People's Procuratorate: People v. Cui Jianguo for dereliction of duty of environmental supervision

(Guiding Case No. 4 of the Supreme People's Procuratorate)

[Keywords]

Subject of a crime of malfeasance in office, staff members of state-owned public institutions, crime of environmental supervision malfeasance

[Key Points]

In practice, some state-owned companies, enterprises and public institutions, as legally authorized, engage in the specific administration of market economy and social life, with certain authority to administer public and social affairs. The staff members of those companies, enterprises, and public institutions who actually exercise the state's administrative power satisfy the requirements for the subject of a crime of malfeasance in office. Where any conduct of malfeasance in office of them is criminally punishable, the offender should be held criminally liable in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law regarding the crime of malfeasance in office. 

[Relevant Legislation]

Article 408 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China and the Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of Issues Concerning the Subject of a Crime of Malfeasance in Office in the Application of Chapter IX of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China

[Basic Facts]

Defendant Cui Jianguo, male, born in 1960, former chief of the 2nd group of the environmental supervision division for drinking water source protection areas, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province.

Biaoxin Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province (hereinafter referred to as “Biaoxin Company”) is located near the upstream of Mangshe River, which is a source of drinking water in a level-2 drinking water source protection area of the city. According to the relevant laws, regulations, and documents of the state, city, and district, Biaoxin Company is a major pollution source subject to “zero discharge of pollutants.” In May 2005, with the approval of the Bureau of Environmental Protection of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, Biaoxin Company started the construction of a project with an annual output of 500 tons of chloroetherketone, and this project passed final inspection in August 2004. In November 2005, without approval, Biaoxin Company concurrently produced climbazole in the workshops of chloroetherketone. In September 2006, the construction of special workshops for the production of climbazole was completed, including 11 production reaction kettles. The waste water generated in the production process of chloroetherketone includes potassium salt, mother liquid, acid waste water, indirect cooling water, and sanitary waste. According to the requirements of the final inspection report, mother liquid should be sold, potassium salt, acid waste water, and indirect cooling water should be recycled after being neutralized and adsorbed (potassium salt may also be collected and then sold to qualified entities). However, since starting the production, Biaoxin Company had never used any technical treatment facilities related to pollutant discharge. Except some potassium salt waste (over 50 tons in total) sold to Funing Auxiliary Reagent Factory from 2006 to 2007, the potassium salt waste and other wastes generated in the production process by Biaoxin Company were directly discharged to the rivers north or east of the factory, causing a serious incident of urban drinking water source pollution in Yancheng City in February 2009. The Chengxi Water Plant and Yuehe Water Plant in Yancheng City suffered from severe pollution, and phenolic compounds in the produced running water severely exceeded the standard. The supply of drinking water for almost 200,000 residents of Yancheng City and the water supply for some entities have been interrupted for 66 hours and 40 minutes, which caused direct economic loss of 5.43 million yuan and had egregious impacts on society. 
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