May 6 (UPI) — Dozens of landfill employees and government officials were sentenced on Friday for their roles in a deadly landslide in China.
A total of 45 people were sentenced in relation to the Shenzhen landslide in December 2015 that killed 73 people after a huge pile of waste collapsed.
Long Renfu, the manager of the company, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined $1.5 million for bribery and negligence that led to the landslide.
The landslide occurred while the landfill was holding more than 1 million cubic meters over its capacity and had waste heaps nearly twice its maximum stacking height.
Almost 20 of the suspects sentenced were government officials, who were convicted of negligence and abuse of power.
The former head of the city administration bureau of Shenzhen, Meng Jinghang, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined $1.2 million for abusing power and taking bribes of $3.6 million.
Another 17 government officials were sentenced to serve three to seven years in prison.
