BEIJING
Six companies in China's eastern Jiangsu province were fined a record 160 million yuan ($26 million) for polluting rivers, state media reported Wednesday.
In a sign that Chinese authorities are clamping down on the companies that have fuelled the country’s booming economy at the expense of its environment, Xinhua news agency said the firms were ordered to pay the amount to an environmental protection fund within 30 days.
The companies from Taizhou City were found guilty of discharging 25,000 tons of waste acid into two rivers, causing serious pollution, according to Jiangsu Provincial Higher People's Court.
Xinhua reported that 14 people involved in the pollution were jailed for between two and five years in August by Taizhou Intermediate People's Court, when the fine was initially imposed.
The six companies, which were not identified, appealed but the lower court’s ruling was upheld on Tuesday.
China faces international pressure to clean up its environment and the Chinese are increasingly complaining about pollution.
Last month, President Xi Jinping highlighted the problems of Beijing’s persistent smog during the APEC summit by joking about ‘APEC blue’ – a satirical reference to the nature of the capital’s skies due to anti-pollution measures imposed for the summit.
The government says that around 70 percent of China's lakes and rivers are polluted.
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