VN to strictly punish Vedan’s law-breaking act

At the press briefing held on September 17, Minister Nguyên released that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) is completing legal documents to pass the case to investigation agencies.

Vedan's violations against Việt Nam’s Law on Environment Protection were too cunning. The Taiwanese company designed and installed a system of two-way pumps and underground pipes (7-8m deep in some places) to directly discharge its untreated sewage into the river for years.

According to the MONRE, by September 15, the investigation team had full scientific, practical and legal evidences to confirm that the producer's post-fermentation liquid to the river amounted to 44,800 cubic meters per month, not mention the volume of sewage through its treatment system.

The factory has been punished several time for eliminating sewage and contaminating the environment. In 2005, Vedan spent VND 15 billion to compensate aquaculture farmers in Đồng Nai, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu and Hồ Chí Minh City. In the same year, it was fined VND 9 million by Đồng Nai’s authority for its sewage elimination.

Minister Phạm Khôi Nguyên emphasized that this is a typical case of environmental pollution which will be strictly punished to stop other foreign investors from importing out-of-dated technologies into Việt Nam and breaking Vietnamese laws.