Four jailed for dumping garbage in eastern China

NANJING - Four people received jail terms Friday for fly-tipping on the bank of a river in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, according to a local court.

The defendants were sentenced to 18 to 21 months in prison and fined 50,000 yuan ($7,260) to 60,000 yuan, said a statement from the court in Xishan district, Wuxi City.

The court found that Xu Guoqiang, without a license for disposing garbage, signed a contract with Yangpu district government, Shanghai, to help handle household trash from 2013.

In May 2015, three other defendants shipped garbage to Wuxi, dumped it and buried it with construction materials and soil.

The garbage polluted the local environment. Tests found heavy metals, including lead and chromium, in the solid waste. The garbage was disposed of by local authorities in July 2015.

The dumping was first spotted by local residents on May 19, when a vessel carried the trash to Huishan District, Wuxi. Four other vessels carrying garbage came a week later and were seized by local authorities.

The Xishan court accepted the case in November 2015, holding two hearings.