New impunity rules give minor offenders second chance
The operator of an automotive shop signs an impunity notice.
A car is washed on the street.
Shanghai urban management and law enforcement authorities issued the city's first impunity notice for a minor irregularity on Tuesday.
According to regulations released late August, individuals and firms can avoid punishment for first-time, unintentional legal transgressions if they correct their mistakes in a timely manner, and if their actions have little negative impact, according to the Shanghai Bureau of Justice.
Workers at an automobile repair and maintenance shop on Rongle Rd M. in Songjiang District were spotted washing a car on the street, resulting in a waste water discharge onto the road, officials with the Yueyang Subdistrict team of the Songjiang District Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau found during an inspection on August 25.
Officials with the Songjiang District Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau recheck the shop.
Inspectors educated the operator of the shop, surnamed Li, and asked the shop to rectify its transgression.
Li said workers parked the car on the street for washing because the shop was busy that day.
The shop could be fined as much as 3,000 yuan (US$441) as an administrative penalty based on the city's public sanitation and environment management regulations, officials said.
On Sunday, officials reinspected the shop and found it had fixed the problem.
Because the shop had violated regulations for the first time, and the act did not cause serious consequences and the shop corrected its mistake in time, officials did not impose a fine.
Li said his business has suffered this year due to the coronavirus epidemic, but he appreciates this human-oriented approach to law enforcement.
He promised to abide by regulations.
The car is cleaned on street.
