Taoyuan City, Taiwan — December 17, 2025
Prosecutors in Taoyuan have filed criminal charges against two companies and 24 individuals in connection with a long-running industrial pollution case involving the illegal discharge of heavy metal–contaminated wastewater, authorities said Tuesday.
Investigators found that a manufacturing company in Luzhu District, Taoyuan City, had for years secretly released large volumes of sludge-filled wastewater containing heavy metals into nearby drainage systems, causing severe sediment accumulation along the Luzhu coastline near the river estuary. Environmental sampling later confirmed that the concentration of suspended solids in the discharged wastewater exceeded regulatory limits by more than 10,000 times.
During the investigation, authorities also uncovered the involvement of a New Taipei City–based transport company that allegedly accepted and dumped waste bentonite without obtaining the required waste collection and disposal permits. The waste was reportedly transported from construction sites across the Greater Taipei area and illegally disposed of at the Taoyuan facility for financial gain.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office said it has concluded its investigation and formally indicted both companies along with 24 responsible parties. Prosecutors have also seized related assets and applied for the forfeiture of more than NT$12 billion in suspected criminal proceeds.
Ye Nai-chun, director of the Environmental Management Administration’s Central Region Center, said the illegal discharges were first detected in October 2020, when environmental authorities discovered that the Taoyuan-based company had been releasing wastewater late at night to avoid detection. The effluent was found to contain high concentrations of suspended solids mixed with heavy metals such as copper and chromium.
Authorities said the company attempted to evade inspections by assigning personnel to monitor the factory’s surroundings and intermittently halting operations. In response, environmental inspectors and police intensified surveillance efforts and upgraded monitoring equipment.
On August 17 this year, inspectors caught the company actively diverting wastewater using valve controls, unauthorized pipelines, and high-powered pumps to discharge effluent from its recycling pools directly into an external drainage ditch. Laboratory tests showed suspended solid levels reaching as high as 505,000 milligrams per liter, far exceeding legal standards.
Further investigations revealed that the transport company earned more than NT$97 million through the illegal collection and dumping of waste bentonite.
Authorities stressed that the case underscores the government’s commitment to combating serious environmental crimes and warned that businesses engaging in illegal pollution and waste disposal will face strict legal accountability and substantial financial penalties.