Ex-manager of chemical plant sentenced over fatal accident

The former manager of a chemical company in Northeast China's Liaoning province who didn't assume responsibility for a sulfuric acid leak that left seven people dead has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by Beipiao city court, Legal Daily reported on Wednesday.

Gou Weimin, former manager of Yantong Commercial and Chemical Company in Beipiao, changed the thickness and height of the company's sulfuric acid storage tanks, according to Beipiao city people's procuratorate.

In March 2013, a sulfuric acid tank exploded as a worker was welding it. The tank leaked 26,000 tons of sulfuric acid, killing seven workers. The economic losses from the incident reached 12.1 million yuan ($1.95 million), according to reports.