Chinese procuratorates file 16,173 public interest litigations in Q1

BEIJING -- China's procuratorates filed 16,173 public interest litigation cases and brought 568 such cases to courts from January to March, according to statistics released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP).

A total of 11,762 cases were handled through pre-litigation procedures in the first three months, involving issues of environment protection, resource conservation, food and drug safety, and state-owned asset protection, among others, said the SPP.

A total of 87,000 mu (5,802.9 hectares) of polluted or damaged forests, wetlands, grasslands and water areas were repaired or cleared as a result of the handling of the cases, the SPP said.

Procuratorates facilitated the clearing of 179,000 tonnes of household and solid waste and urged the shutdown of 228 businesses in violation during the period.

The handling of the cases also saw nearly 5.67 million yuan (around 801,776 U.S. dollars) of compensation for environmental damage, and about 22.45 million yuan for ecological restoration be recovered, the SPP said.

Procuratorates helped investigation and confiscation of 3,347.1 kg of counterfeit and shoddy food and 2.6 kg of fake and smuggled drugs in the first three months, it added.