Polluters caught in 2nd round

Officials held accountable, many companies fined, ministry says

More than 600 companies have been fined about 58 million yuan ($9 million) for environmental violations, and at least 58 people have been detained, as central environmental inspectors reached the halfway mark in their monthly task of revisiting 10 provincial regions previously inspected, the top environmental watchdog said on Monday.

The environmental inspections, launched in early 2016 by the central government and headed by ministerial-level officials, covered all the 31 provincial regions of the Chinese mainland by the end of last year.