Illegal Discharge of Strong Acid Wastewater Pollutes Nankan Creek; Prosecutors Arrest Offenders, Seize Illicit Gains Exceeding NT$10 Million

Taoyuan, Taiwan — A major printed circuit board manufacturer, Li-Ming Technology, has been found to have illegally discharged highly acidic wastewater with a pH value below 2 into Nankan Creek through an unlicensed contractor, He-Zhou Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd.. Investigators estimate the company avoided legitimate treatment costs and gained illegal profits exceeding NT$10 million.

Following an investigation by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office directed a late-night on-site search and arrested four suspects involved in the operation. The court has approved their detention to prevent collusion or destruction of evidence.

According to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office, the EPA’s Northern Environmental Inspection Corps received a tip-off that He-Zhou, based in Bade District, was contracted to handle Li-Ming Technology’s acidic industrial wastewater, which contains high concentrations of copper and nickel and poses a serious health hazard. By law, such waste must undergo specialized treatment before discharge.

However, since May 2019, He-Zhou allegedly installed concealed pipelines and bypass mechanisms, covertly discharging the untreated strong acid wastewater directly into Nankan Creek, mainly during late-night hours to evade detection. The EPA installed high-tech monitoring devices downstream to collect long-term evidence, which formed the basis for the prosecutors’ operation.

On December 16, Prosecutor Hsu Chen-Jung from the Land and Civil Life Protection Task Force personally supervised the stakeout. Late that evening, EPA and Criminal Investigation Division (Seventh Special Police Corps) officers detected the illegal discharge at around 10 p.m. and immediately conducted a raid.

Authorities arrested He-Zhou’s owner, a manager surnamed Tsai, and two employees surnamed Liu and Yen. After questioning, due to inconsistencies in their statements and risk of collusion, the prosecutor filed for detention under Article 36 of the Water Pollution Control Act and Article 46 of the Waste Disposal Act; the Taoyuan District Court granted the request.

Preliminary estimates indicate He-Zhou illegally disposed of hazardous acidic wastewater to avoid proper treatment costs and secure profits exceeding NT$10 million. Prosecutors have also obtained court approval to freeze certain company assets to recover illicit gains.