The Taocheng City government announced a heavy fine of 6 million! Lawyer Li Yusheng explains the legal issues related to the air pollution control law as public outrage over Mei Phu fire "light fine of RMB 6,000"

The Taocheng City government announced a heavy fine of 6 million! Meifu fire "light fine of 6,000" caused public outrage｜China TV News

News link:https://news.cts.com.tw/cts/life/202303/202303202156146.html

Flames shot straight into the sky in the dark night. The fire at Taoyuan Meifu Warehouse burned for 21 days before it was extinguished last year. A large amount of meat was piled inside. After burning, it gave off a strong stench, making nearby residents miserable. Originally, Taoyuan City Government They threatened heavy fines, but unexpectedly, Mei Phuo's appeal was successful, and the NT$6 million fine turned into only NT$6,000. Guo Zixiu, founder of the Mei Phu Fire Public Hazard Self-Rescue Association, said: "It has caused financial and health losses to all Luzhu residents. , there is no way to estimate, but the government was slow and did nothing, including the government's unwillingness to explain clearly how the fire occurred."
The Taoyuan City Environmental Protection Bureau issued penalties in two parts at that time. First, it imposed a fine of 5 million yuan in accordance with Article 32 of the Air Pollution Law. However, Meifu refused to accept the petition and filed a petition. Based on the fire investigation report, it determined that the cause of the fire was a motor fire. Finally, the Environmental Protection Agency sued the committee. It was determined that the requirements for spontaneous combustion of accumulations as stated in the regulations were not met and the penalty was revoked. In addition, the Environmental Protection Bureau also imposed a fine of 1 million yuan in accordance with the abolition of the cleanup law. The Municipal Appeal Committee believed that it was not in compliance with the principle of proportionality, and finally re-imposed a fine of 6,000 yuan.
Guo Zixiu, founder of the Meifu Fire Public Hazard Self-Rescue Association, said: "People finally wanted to ask for compensation but found out that the government protected the manufacturer in the first place, and the odor sampling process was full of loopholes." Taoyuan City Environmental Protection Bureau Chief Secretary Ye Mengfen said: " In fact, we also conducted odor testing that time, but because it (Meifu) is not a listed enterprise under the Air Pollution Act, it cannot apply the odor standards. We will actively recommend to the Environmental Protection Agency to amend the law."

Explanation of legal issues related to the Air Pollution Control Act

Serious odors affect people's daily lives, but there are no provisions in the air pollution law. The lawyer said that if the Environmental Protection Agency studies and amends the law in the future, it should consider various causes of air pollution. Lawyer Li Yusheng said: "The original air pollution law now, it It has relatively strict regulations on what kind of behavior will cause air pollution, so when the law is revised in the future, it may be possible to adjust the Air Pollution Prevention Law and the components of relevant penalties." Lacks in regulations cannot be fixed overnight. Improvement, now the Meifu Self-Rescue Association has decided that the government's protection of manufacturers cannot be tolerated, and it has filed a class action lawsuit to seek justice for itself.

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