A textile firm based in Dongguan in south China's Guangdong Province has been ordered to pay 11.55 million yuan (US$1.4 million) for the illicit discharge of excess wastewater over the past two years.

 

This is believed to be the heaviest fine ever for illegal sewage release in the province, said an official with the Guangdong provincial environmental protection bureau in an interview with Xinhua on Sunday.

 

Dongguan Fuan Textiles Ltd., fully owned by Hong Kong-listed Fountain Set (Holdings) Limited, was found guilty of dumping more than 10 million tons of wastewater over the past two years through an underground pipe.

 

The company admitted that it had received notice of the fine on Thursday, but declined to comment.

 

The company was earlier fined 210,000 yuan (US$26,000) for sewage infraction last month.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2006)