A LOCAL company was accused of discharging untreated wastewater into a reservoir in Dapeng New Area, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Thursday.

    According to the Daily, Empery, a local beauty salon company, has occupied several factory buildings near the Damali Reservoir in Dapeng and turned them into a training base for the company.

    A young woman told the Daily that she and her other co-workers were undergoing a training session there.

    The training center contains an entertainment room, a private theater, a gym, luxury accommodations and a large kitchen. The Daily said the kitchen is right next to the reservoir, where several dozen bags of kitchen waste had been dumped. The kitchen has been discharging wastewater directly into the reservoir.

    The local environmental protection authorities have ordered the company to stop discharging untreated wastewater and said they were investigating the case, the newspaper said.

    The Damali Reservoir is one of the main water sources to many residents in Longhua New Area. However, the neighborhood has undergone several illegal developments in recent years.

    Jubang Media, a subsidiary of Empery, was accused of bribing a local law enforcement official, Zhang Yaokun, allegedly paying him 60,000 yuan (US$9,665) in exchange for being allowed to develop private villas near the reservoir, according to the newspaper. The project was halted when Zhang was investigated for corruption more than one year ago.

    Zhang admitted to taking 40,000 yuan in bribes from the company during a trial last year. But he claimed that many illegal construction projects in the area had the backing of other high-level officials and thus there was nothing he could do to stop them.

    A publicity official with Dapeng New Area government said the authorities are still working to determine whether other buildings, including the training base, were constructed illegally. (Luo Songsong)