San Miguel Pure Foods Viet Nam has been fined VND106 million (US$6,000) for discharging more than 230,000 cu.m of waste water into the Thi Tinh River.

San Miguel Pure Foods Viet Nam has been fined VND106 million (US$6,000) for discharging waste water into the Thi Tinh River in Binh Duong Province. — VNA/VNS File Photo

The company was fined for committing four violations under the country’s environmental protection laws.

The department said the company had not issued an environmental impact report, and had failed to treat the waste water in its reservoirs.

In addition, the amount of pollutants from the waste water discharged into the Thi Tinh River was hundreds of times over permitted levels, said Vo Thi Ngoc Hanh, the department’s deputy director.

San Miguel also had to pay VND1.2 billion (US$67,000) in overdue environmental protection fees.

Organisations and households that discharge waste water are required by law to pay the fee, which is deposited in the Government’s environmental protection fund.

The company has been asked to consolidate its dykes and upgrade the waste water treatment systems to ensure that standards are met.

San Miguel must also pay compensation to affected households for losses caused by the company’s violations.

The company, a subsidiary of the Philippines-based San Miguel Corporation, specialises in cooking processing and packaging.

VietNamNet/VNS