Trial sheds light on causes of devastating Tianjin blasts
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E-mail Xinhua, November 10, 2016
OFFICIALS ON THE TAKE
An all-powerful boss would not have been enough to bring about the tragedy without the collapse of government oversight when tempted with bribes, the court found.
Officials of various government agencies involving transportation, ports, customs, industrial safety, city planning, and maritime affairs were found to have willfully failed to perform their duties in connection with the case.
In one case, Ruihai Logistics management gave cash, shopping mall gift cards, and bills of lading for various goods with a combined value of 157,500 yuan (23,333 U.S. dollars) to deputy director of Tianjin transportation and ports administration bureau Li Zhigang and his subordinates. Other officials also accepted cash bribes or were invited to play golf. In return, Ruihai Logistics secured all government approvals to handle hazardous materials at the port, a highly profitable business endeavor.
In court, 25 officials were sentenced to prison terms lasting from three to seven years for dereliction of duty, abuse of power, and accepting bribes. They included head of Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission, head of state-owned Tianjin Port Holdings Co., Ltd., and head of Tianjin Customs.
Zhao Bingzhi, a renowned criminal law expert with Beijing Normal University, said it is rare to hand such severe sentences to directors of government departments for industrial accidents.
The sentencing, Zhao said, signals a new trend in China's criminal justice system to bring directors of government departments to the frontline in enforcing safety supervision.
"This should sound a warning to those directors," he said.
THIRD PARTIES ASLEEP ON THE JOB
China's law requires technical companies to provide third party evaluation to check safety measures at factories and warehouses.
But in the Tianjin case, this layer of defense was breached as well.
Tianjin Zhongbin Haisheng Safety Evaluation Company (Zhongbin) was approached by Ruihai Logistics to issue safety reports which would allow the company to store explosive chemicals at its container yard.
Prosecutors accused Zhongbin employees of faking evaluation reports even though they knew the yard was not suitable for chemical storage and there were other safety problems. The company received a commission of 50,000 yuan (7,407 U.S. dollars) for the job.
The court sentenced 11 Zhongbin employees, including its board chairman and general manager, to prison terms lasting from 18 months to four years for faking safety documents for Ruihai Logistics.
Chen Weidong, law professor with Renmin University of China, said it is not uncommon for third party agencies to issue safety reports without going to check what is happening on the ground.
"This trial should be a wake-up call to all these third party firms," Chen said. "They are not immune. The justice system will not tolerate their role as accomplices."
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