WORLD BRIEFING / CHINA
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Thirteen officials in central China have been punished after a chemical company contaminated a river with arsenic, state media reported.
A local court sentenced Liu Gaili, a former environmental protection bureau official, to two years in jail, the official New China News Agency said, quoting the Shangqiu city government in Henan province. The report said 12 other officials were either sacked or given administrative punishments.
The officials were punished after a section of the Dasha river was found contaminated by arsenic in August. Water quality tests showed the concentration of arsenic was nearly 900 times greater than what was deemed safe.
Investigations showed the Chengcheng Chemical Co., a sulfuric acid plant, had been illegally dumping toxic waste water into the river.
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