Blast investigation

THE Ministry of Emergency Management on Tuesday said that a company responsible for a fatal blast in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province had been involved in illegal production.

The blast happened July 12, killing 19 and injured 12 at the Hengda chemical plant in an industrial park in Yibin City. Hengda, registered in June 2015, mainly produces chemical products.

Officials with the ministry said the blast was a production safety accident caused by serious violations of laws and regulations.

Telecom fraud

THE Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday called on Chinese citizens traveling or living abroad to be alert to telecom fraud.

“Operators of such fraud often impersonate staff of Chinese embassies or consulates abroad and trick victims into transferring money to designated bank accounts by claiming that the victims are involved in criminal cases and might be deported,” the ministry statement said.

Smuggled products

CHINA’S customs have intercepted a large quantity of illegal animal products worth up to 106 million yuan (US$15.8 million), the customs office in Harbin, capital of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, said yesterday.

Trash smuggling

CHINA’S customs authority has seized 987,900 tons of illegal trash imports so far this year, up 157 percent year on year, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said yesterday.

Since the beginning of this year, China has launched three rounds of intensified campaigns to crack down on trash smuggling, making every effort to prevent the import of foreign garbage, said the GAC.