BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese courts have intensified punishment on acts of polluting air, water and soil to protect the environment, said Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), on Wednesday.
From the beginning of 2014 to June 2019, courts nationwide concluded 110,000 criminal cases related to the environment and natural resources and 143,000 people were convicted, said Zhou while delivering a report on strengthening criminal trials at the ongoing bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.
The SPC has severely punished those involved in the illegal discharge of pollutants, illegal sand mining and illegal fishing along the Yangtze River and tried cases of dumping solid waste along the river to promote ecological protection and restoration of the water, the report said.
