Episode 28 recap: The court's sampling was obstructed.
The Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau knew that what he was doing went against his conscience, but he had no choice. After all, he still relied on Luo Huai Gong for promotion and wealth. This time, Luo Huai Gong also gave the Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau a substantial amount of money. After returning, Secretary Su reported the situation to Luo Huai Gong. In fact, she didn't understand why Luo Huai Gong was so willing to help the chemical plant. Luo Huai Gong mentioned that when the company was going public, there was a female journalist who had been investigating their affairs. At that time, he asked the plant manager to help him out. Although he still had shares in the chemical plant, he had to prepare to divest as soon as possible in order to minimize the losses for the entire group.
Actually, the staff of the Environmental Protection Bureau also prepared another sample and found trustworthy people to help with the testing. They wanted to see if the villagers' environment had really been contaminated. Qi Heng was reporting the work to the leaders when Niu Geng came to report the situation. Surprisingly, after inspection, the Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau found that the factory did not discharge wastewater, and he even colluded with court personnel to handle the matter. Therefore, Qi Heng started to hesitate on whether to accept or reject the case.
Qi Heng sought out Yang Guo Liang, who suggested temporarily suspending the investigation. Qi Heng also thought about having Gao Deng Shui testify in court, but then he learned that Gao Deng Shui had already passed away in the hospital a week ago.
Just as the Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau managed to suppress the situation, the lawyer Zhong, who often fought for justice for the common people, submitted the evidence to the court. Now it remains to be seen how the court will rule. Luo Huai Gong called Zhang Yan Jun and inquired about the situation, asking him to take care of it.
Zhang Yan Jun found Qi Heng and mentioned that the Environmental Protection Bureau had already submitted the final appraisal results. They couldn't let the results of the third-party appraisal influence the Environmental Protection Bureau's own results. Otherwise, it would undermine the government's authority. If the lawyer sued the Environmental Protection Bureau, it would be a disgraceful matter. Zhang Yan Jun spoke a lot in order to prevent Qi Heng from being affected by this case.
Cases with factual issues should be appropriately punished.
This time, the Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau was severely criticized. The County Mayor also stated that if Jiangyun Chemical Plant were to close down, it would be an immeasurable loss for the entire county. Therefore, the Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau needed to provide an explanation as soon as possible. Qi Heng, naturally, would not disregard the truth for the sake of saving face. Zhang Yan Jun had no choice but to leave without meeting Qi Heng.
Niu Geng was very worried that Qi Heng would waver. He was eager to have the court file a case for investigation. Qi Heng had already arrived at Yang Guo Liang's office, and he asked if Qi Heng was ready. If they were indeed going to proceed with the investigation, they might have to contend with visible and invisible forces in society and even within the government. The outcome, whether a victory or a defeat, was still unknown.
Luo Huai Gong was furious about offending this matter. He didn't expect that Qi Heng would still confront him. He had never encountered such setbacks during his time here. It seemed that their relationship would become even more confrontational from now on. As the presiding judge for this case, Qi Heng first asked both parties to present their evidence. Lawyer Zhong wanted to prove that Matou Village indeed had issues with sewage discharge, but the other side kept questioning the use of a third-party inspection agency. There were significant doubts about the authenticity of the samples tested.
The other side kept insisting that Lawyer Zhong should disclose the source of the samples. However, Lawyer Zhong naturally wouldn't reveal that the Environmental Protection Bureau's staff provided them. So, the other side seized on this issue and continued to doubt Lawyer Zhong. Qi Heng also discussed this matter with everyone. Ma La Song's remark awakened Qi Heng. They could hire a third-party organization to conduct the inspection, which would be fairer and more impartial.
Soon, the court brought a third-party agency to Matou Village for sampling and testing. Unexpectedly, all the underground pipelines were covered with cement. When they attempted to collect water samples from the riverside, they were blocked by the villagers. The situation even escalated into an argument. It turned out that Secretary Su had informed the plant manager of the chemical factory in advance. The workers were worried about losing their jobs, so they spontaneously came to protect the factory.
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