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Taiwanese polluter facing charges, fines, compensation payments
Vedan Vietnam Company, caught dumping untreated wastewater into a southern river, is facing criminal charges for evading environment taxes and installing an illegal waste system, a government ministry said Tuesday.
The Taiwanese monosodium glutamate maker will also have to pay for the damage it caused to the environment in the southern Dong Nai Province, inspectors from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) said at a press briefing Tuesday.
The firm, which was found pumping untreated wastewater into the Thi Vai River in mid-September, evaded paying around VND127 billion (US$7.7 million) in wastewater fees, that would have been used for environmental protection.
Vedan Vietnam would be forced to pay the fees retroactively, MNRE said Tuesday. The ministry also recommended central police consider criminal charges against the firm.
MNRE said investigations into the Taiwanese company’s wastewater dumping system would continue. The system is estimated to have discharged around 105,600 cubic meters of untreated wastewater per month into the Thi Vai River.
Vedan Vietnam would not be able to pump anything into the river until it could meet MNRE standards of waste treatment, the ministry said.
The firm has admitted breaking at least 12 environmental protection codes over the past 14 years, MNRE said last week. The MNRE said the company would have to pay fines worth up to around VND217 million ($13,000) for flouting the regulations.
Thanhnien
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