A special investigation group has handed out punishments to
those responsible for the gold mine explosion in north China's Shanxi
Province in mid-2002, including ranking officials of the local
government.
The explosion in Fanshi County of Shanxi Province on June 22,
2002, killed 38 people and caused more than 10 million yuan (about
US$1.2 million) of direct economic losses.
According to the investigation report, which has been approved
by the State Council recently, 39 people directly responsible for
the accident have been handed over to the court, including Yin San
and Wang Quanquan, owners of the illegal gold mine in Fanshi
County.
Former county head Wang Yanping was among eight people arrested
on charges of bribe taking, dereliction of duty, and illegally
buying and selling explosives.
According to the report, Wang helped Yin San and his associates
obtain permission to operate the mining illegally. He was also
accused of neglecting to protect the scene of the accident and
detaining suspects after the accident.
Another 13 officials, including Li Jinsuo, former director of
the Shanxi Gold Administration, and Yang Jinsheng, deputy mayor of
Xinzhou City, received disciplinary punishments within the
Communist Party of China (CPC) or the government for poor
supervisory work and covering up the accident.
The report also noted that 11 journalists had accepted bribes in
the form of cash and gold ingots from local officials and owners of
the illegal mine.
To stem the increasing tide of accidents, many regions in China
have started to have leading officials responsible for accidents in
their administrative areas.?
(Xinhua News Agency September 16, 2003)