Court hits company, 3 bosses over Dalian virus

A company was fined 800,000 yuan ($12,552) by a court in Dalian, Liaoning province, and three of its leaders were sentenced to a maximum of 57 months in prison for failing to control an infectious disease.

The court withheld the full names of the company and the individuals by redacting portions. It referred to the company as "Dalian x Enterprise Management Co LTD" and to the individuals as "Fu x Hao, Zhang x Yong and Fu x Jun".

In December 2020, four employees of the company were identified as asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus. The resurgence in Dalian involved a combined total of 83 confirmed locally transmitted cases and asymptomatic carriers.

According to the people's court of the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone, the company engaged in businesses including port cargo handling and human resources services. The three individual defendants were the company's controller, legal representative and manager.

In mid-November 2020, a foreign cargo ship carrying imported cold-chain goods docked at Dalian Port's Dayaowan terminal. From Dec 1 to 12, the company employed laborers to unload the ship, but in the process violated a number of epidemic prevention and control regulations, the court found.

Some employees did not wear masks as required or ate food while wearing protective clothing that might have been contaminated.

In addition, the company did not strictly implement closed-loop management regulations. The hotel at which the employees stayed was open to the public, and the employees often went to crowded public places after work such as restaurants and commercial buildings.

The violations resulted in the spread of the coronavirus into society, the court found.