Under the pressure to protect the environment, how did these 8 companies commit fraud?

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Tampering with the data acquisition device’s program, resulting in abnormal operation of the pollutant treatment facilities； Failure to carry out daily operation and maintenance tasks in accordance with technical specifications, and falsification of operation and maintenance records ； Deliberately evading supervision by automatic monitoring equipment and discharging wastewater in excess of allowed levels… On July 14, the Ministry of Environmental Protection informed the media that, despite the strict environmental oversight measures in place across the country, some enterprises still engage in fraud regarding automatic pollution monitoring facilities and the data they generate. Tian Weiyong, director of the Environmental Supervision Bureau under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told reporters that orders have been given to \"all regions to maintain a strict enforcement stance against any acts of fraud related to automatic monitoring facilities for pollution sources and the data generated by them, and to make the investigation of such fraudulent activities a priority in law enforcement inspections.\" Tian Weiyong stated that cases identified will be examined in accordance with the law, decisions regarding penalties will be made and their implementation will be supervised; or they will be transferred to the public security authorities for prompt handling. Cases involving fraud related to automatic monitoring facilities and data for pollution sources, once investigated and closed, should be made public promptly. Social environmental monitoring agencies that alter or fabricate monitoring data or issue false reports, as well as manufacturers involved in the production, sale, and maintenance of environmental monitoring equipment, will be included on a \"blacklist of entities with serious credibility issues,\" and relevant information will be made public in a timely manner, so that those who engage in fraud face restrictions in all areas as a consequence of their dishonest behavior. Tian Weiyong also provided detailed accounts of these 8 cases, namely: 1. The case in which Zhejiang Province’s Hangzhou Xudongsheng Technology Co., Ltd. altered the programs of the data collection devices, resulting in abnormal operation of the pollution treatment facilities ； 2. Case of Zhejiang Hangzhou Ankong Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. failing to carry out daily operation and maintenance in accordance with technical specifications and fabricating operation and maintenance records ； 3. Case of Fraud in Automatic Monitoring Data of Pollution Sources at Zhejiang Longda Textiles Co., Ltd ； 4. Case of Zhejiang Zhengtian Dyeing and Printing Co., Ltd. deliberately evading supervision by automatic monitoring equipment and discharging wastewater in excess of allowed levels ； 5. Case of employees from Fujian Changye Water Services Co., Ltd. deliberately interfering with the automatic monitoring system for pollution sources ； 6. Case of Hebei Qinhuangdao Suokun Glass Containers Co., Ltd. deliberately damaging automatic monitoring equipment for air pollutant emissions ； 7. Case of Sanda Water Services Co., Ltd. in Juye County, Shandong Province, for illegally connecting hidden pipes and artificially interfering with the automatic monitoring system for pollution sources ； 8. The case of Rizhao Urban Drainage Co., Ltd. in Shandong Province arbitrarily modifying the parameters of automatic monitoring equipment. Appendix: Cases of fraud involving automatic monitoring facilities and data for pollution sources in the first half of 2016 I. The case of Hangzhou Xudongsheng Technology Co., Ltd. altering the programs of its data collection devices, resulting in abnormal operation of the pollution treatment facilities On March 1, 2016, the Hangzhou Environmental Inspection Team conducted an on-site inspection of Hangzhou Yunhui Dyeing and Finishing Co., Ltd., and found that the historical data from the COD water quality online monitor showed values above 400 mg/L, which did not match the data displayed and uploaded by the data collection devices at the same time. Upon investigation, Hangzhou Xudongsheng Technology Co., Ltd., as the entity responsible for the operation, maintenance, and management of the automatic pollution monitoring system for Hangzhou Yunhui Dyeing and Finishing Co., Ltd., arbitrarily adjusted the settings of the data collection software such that monitoring data showing concentrations above 400 mg/L were automatically replaced by data showing concentrations below 400 mg/L. As a result, the measurement values obtained by the COD water quality online monitor did not match the values transmitted to the environmental protection authorities by the automatic pollution monitoring system. In accordance with Article 73 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law and Article 57 of the Zhejiang Province Water Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations, the Hangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau imposed a fine of 56,550 yuan on Hangzhou Yunhui Dyeing and Finishing Co., Ltd. for its illegal act of misusing water pollution treatment facilities. In accordance with Article 63, Paragraph 3 of the Environmental Protection Law and Article 17, Paragraph 1 of the Law on Public Security Administration Punishments, the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau imposed an administrative penalty of five days’ detention on Zhang and Cen from Hangzhou Xudongsheng Technology Co., Ltd., for their illegal act of remotely accessing the company’s data collection devices in order to modify the software installed on those devices and delete operation logs, thereby attempting to evade supervision. II. The case of Hangzhou Ankong Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. failing to carry out daily operation and maintenance in accordance with technical specifications and fabricating records of such operations: On March 3, 2016, officials from the Hangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau conducted an on-site inspection of Green Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., and found that the online COD water quality monitoring device could not operate properly, and there was no historical data for the period from February 8 to 22, 2016. It has been determined that Hangzhou Ankong Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. is the entity responsible for the operation and maintenance of the automatic monitoring equipment at Green Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. The COD water quality online monitor manufactured by Green Bio Technology Co., Ltd. was in a frozen state and unable to operate from February 8 to 22, 2016. From January 29 to February 26, 2016, the maintenance staff of Hangzhou Ankong Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. failed to carry out the routine maintenance tasks at the company as required, which resulted in the abnormal operation of the automatic water pollution monitoring system. On February 26, 2016, they forged maintenance records dated February 5 and February 19, 2016, as well as records related to quality control sample comparisons. In accordance with Article 73 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law and Article 57 of the Zhejiang Province Water Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations, the Hangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau imposed a fine of 2,134 yuan on Green Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. for its illegal act of improper use of water pollution treatment facilities. In accordance with Article 63, Paragraph 3 of the Environmental Protection Law and Article 137, Paragraph 2 of the Provisions on the Procedures for Public Security Organs to Handle Administrative Cases, the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau imposed an administrative penalty of five days’ detention on Jia, Zhou, and Xu from Hangzhou Ankong Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., for their violations including operating in violation of technical specifications, failing to carry out on-site maintenance as required, and fabricating false records of maintenance operations and quality control sample comparisons. III. The case of fraud in the automatic monitoring data of pollution sources at Zhejiang Longda Textiles Co., Ltd. In March 2016, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Shangyu District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, detected abnormalities in the online monitoring data of the wastewater discharged by Zhejiang Longda Textiles Co., Ltd. After a month of data analysis, at 14:40 on April 5, 2016, officials from the Environmental Protection Bureau of Shangyu District conducted an on-site inspection of the company’s wastewater treatment facilities. They found that there was a retaining wall built in the middle of the discharge tank, and a water storage tank was placed around the sampling ports of the automatic monitoring equipment; pipes from this storage tank led directly to a water supply pipe located 5 meters away from the discharge tank. The officials immediately took photographs as evidence and prepared a record of the on-site inspection. Upon investigation, Wei Dengyun, the supervisor of the company’s wastewater treatment plant, altered the sampling ports of the automatic monitoring system in order to evade supervision by this system; he installed sampling buckets and used a yellow hose to inject tap water directly, as a result of which the samples collected by the automatic monitoring equipment were diluted, leading to seriously inaccurate monitoring data. Such corporate behavior violates Article 63 of the Environmental Protection Law. The Shangyu District Environmental Protection Bureau ordered the company to immediately correct the aforementioned illegal activities and imposed a fine of 100,000 yuan. In response to the alleged falsification of monitoring data by this entity in order to evade supervision, the Shangyu District Public Security Bureau, in accordance with Article 63 of the Environmental Protection Law, Item 3 of Article 6 of the Interim Measures for Administrative Authorities to Transfer Cases of Environmental Violations for Administrative Detention, the Administrative Penalty Law, and other relevant regulations, imposed an administrative detention on one person in accordance with the law. IV. The case of Zhejiang Zhengtian Dyeing and Printing Co., Ltd. deliberately evading supervision by automatic monitoring equipment and discharging wastewater in excess of allowed limits: In March 2016, the Zhuji Environmental Protection Bureau detected abnormal discharge conditions at the outlet of Zhejiang Zhengtian Dyeing and Printing Co., Ltd. On the morning of March 22, law enforcement officers conducted a surprise inspection at the site and found that Zhejiang Zhengtian Dyeing and Printing Co., Ltd. took advantage of the sampling and monitoring patterns of the automatic wastewater monitoring equipment. By controlling the water pumps, it adjusted the amount of water flowing from the secondary hydrolysis tank to the aerobic tank; during periods when the automatic monitoring equipment was taking samples, less water was discharged and the quality of the wastewater was better. Once the sampling was complete, more water was discharged and the quality of the wastewater was worse. This was an intentional attempt to evade supervision, and there was also excessive discharge of pollutants into the water. The Zhuji Environmental Protection Bureau ordered the company to immediately correct its illegal activities and imposed a fine of 245,000 yuan on it. In accordance with relevant regulations such as the Environmental Protection Law, the Interim Measures for Administrative Authorities to Transfer Cases of Environmental Violations for Administrative Detention, and the Administrative Penalty Law, the Zhuji Public Security Bureau imposed administrative detention on one person in accordance with the law. V. The case of employees at Changye Water Services Co., Ltd. interfering with the automatic monitoring system for pollution sources: On March 1, 2016, the Environmental Information Monitoring Center in Longyan City, Fujian Province, received a report from Juguang Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., its third-party operation and maintenance subsidiary in Longyan, stating that during routine inspections at Changye Water Services Co., Ltd., they found mineral water bottles containing liquid inside the ammonia nitrogen automatic monitoring equipment, and that the sampling tubes of this monitoring equipment had been inserted into those mineral water bottles. Upon investigation, Xie and Zhang, employees of Longyan Changye Water Services Co., Ltd., admitted to the illegal act of deliberately interfering with the automatic monitoring system for pollution sources. On May 27, the Xinluo Branch of the Longyan Public Security Bureau, in accordance with the Interim Measures for Administrative Departments to Refer Cases of Environmental Violations Subject to Administrative Detention and Article 63 of the Environmental Protection Law, imposed an administrative penalty of five days’ administrative detention on Xie and Zhang, two employees of Longyan Changye Water Services Co., Ltd., for their illegal acts. VI. Case of Qinhuangdao Sokun Glass Containers Co., Ltd. deliberately damaging automatic monitoring equipment for air pollutant emissions: During an on-site inspection of Qinhuangdao Sokun Glass Containers Co., Ltd. by officials from the Changli County Environmental Protection Bureau and the Qinhuangdao City Environmental Inspection Team, it was found that each of the three sets of automatic monitoring equipment used for smoke sampling at the factory had a pipe connector welded to it, which was connected to a PVC pipe; thus, the company committed the illegal act of deliberately damaging such automatic monitoring equipment. In accordance with the provisions of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law and the Environmental Protection Law, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Changli County ordered the company to immediately correct the aforementioned illegal activities, imposed a fine of 200,000 yuan, and transferred the relevant documents related to this case to the Public Security Bureau of Changli County. In line with the Provisions on the Temporary Procedures for Administrative Departments to Transfer Cases of Environmental Violations for Administrative Detention, the Public Security Bureau of Changli County imposed administrative detentions on the three key responsible persons of the company in accordance with the law. VII. The case of Juye County Sanda Water Services Co., Ltd. connecting illegal underground pipes and artificially interfering with the automatic monitoring system for pollution sources: In May 2016, the ammonia nitrogen level at the Yulou monitoring site in Heze was above the allowed limits. The Shandong Provincial Environmental Information and Monitoring Center conducted an analysis linking this site to nearby key pollution sources, and found that the main source of pollution at that site was Juye County Sanda Water Services Co., Ltd. On May 16, the Shandong Province Monitoring Center conducted an on-site inspection of the enterprise and found that sampling pipelines had been improperly connected to a closed biological indicator tank, with diluted water samples from that tank being collected and fed into online analysis instruments. The company’s staff admitted to connecting illegal pipes, interfering with sampling, and falsifying monitoring data. The Juye County Public Security Bureau imposed administrative detention on one person in accordance with the law, while the Juye County Environmental Protection Bureau ordered the company to immediately correct the aforementioned illegal activities and fined it 100,000 yuan. VIII. Case of Rizhao Urban Drainage Co., Ltd. arbitrarily modifying parameters of automatic monitoring equipment: On May 24, 2016, the Shandong Provincial Environmental Information and Monitoring Center detected through the dynamic management system for key pollution sources that the slope value of the ammonia nitrogen automatic monitoring equipment at Rizhao Urban Drainage Co., Ltd. had been changed from 1 to 0.5, which was outside the normal range; this triggered an alarm in the dynamic management system. The modification of the slope value resulted in lower readings of ammonia nitrogen levels in the wastewater monitored by the company. On May 25, the Shandong Province Monitoring Center conducted an investigation into the company, seizing the automatic monitoring equipment as well as evidence of parameter modifications. Upon investigation, the company’s staff admitted to altering the parameters of the automatic monitoring equipment without authorization, and confessed to their fraudulent actions. The Rizhao Public Security Bureau imposed administrative detention on one person in accordance with the law, while the Rizhao Environmental Protection Bureau ordered the company to immediately correct the aforementioned illegal activities and fined it 100,000 yuan.