THE Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) has launched an investigation into the Shenzhen landslide for suspected malpractice crimes involved.
Prosecutors will form a special team and work with the State Council investigation team to look for misuse of power, dereliction of duty or bending the law for personal gain, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said in a statement Saturday.
The SPP pledged to bring the offenders behind the incident to justice and make further efforts to ensure work safety.
The statement was made after the State Council investigation team confirmed Friday that the landslide was not a geological disaster.
The tragedy was caused by the collapse of a huge pile of construction waste, rather than any natural geological phenomenon, the team said.
At a news conference Friday, Shenzhen Party chief Ma Xingrui and his leadership expressed condolences to people killed and missing and apologized on behalf of the Shenzhen Party Committee and the Shenzhen government.
“Shenzhen will fully cooperate with the investigation, and will, in accordance with laws and Party rules, bear the responsibility and face the consequences according to the investigation’s results. Those who are accountable for the incident will be punished in accordance with laws and regulations,” Ma said at the news conference.
Yang Shengjun, head of the Shenzhen Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, said that there is still “some risk” of more landslides at three separate locations in the industrial park, and that they have dispatched professionals to deal with it.
“There are also dangerous chemicals that need to be identified and treated,” Yang said, adding that no air or water contamination has been detected since the disaster.
A pile of construction waste collapsed Dec. 20 near the Hengtaiyu Industrial Park in Guangming New Area in Shenzhen. The landslide covers 380,000 square meters. It buried or damaged 33 buildings. Seven are confirmed dead and 75 remain missing. One was rescued.
(Han Ximin)
(Special report on P3)
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