'Prosecutors beef up protection measures'

Improved supervision system helping governments to get tough with polluters, academy says

More than 1,500 people received criminal sentences for causing environmental damage last year after intervention by the prosecution authorities, highlighting their supervision of China's efforts to better protect the environment, a new report has said.

Procuratorate departments were put in charge of reviewing the law-enforcement work of government agencies and other official bodies on Jan 1 last year as part of revisions to the Environmental Protection Law.