Illegal occupation of agricultural land! Henan Cement Company Branch Manager Sentenced

On April 22, the Xuchang Intermediate Court publicly released typical cases, including the case of illegal occupation of agricultural land by a branch of Yuzhou Cement Co., Ltd. and Yang Mou.

Basic facts of the case: From 2013 to 2024, a branch of Yuzhou Cement Co., Ltd. rolled and exploited forest land beyond the scope without applying for a forest land use permit, and a total of 26.3899 hectares (about 395.85 mu) of forest and grassland were seriously damaged. From 2021 to 2024, when Yang was the manager of the branch company, he knowingly instructed others to continue mining, resulting in the destruction of 20.3532 hectares (about 305.3 mu) of forest and grassland. After the incident, Yang voluntarily surrendered. The defendant unit has paid more than 520000 yuan for ecological restoration and loss of ecological service function. After the trial, the court

of Yuzhou City held that the defendant unit and Yang constituted the crime of illegally occupying agricultural land, and Yang was the person directly responsible. In view of the circumstances of voluntary surrender, confession and active ecological restoration, the defendant unit was sentenced to a fine of 700000 yuan, Yang was sentenced to three years'imprisonment, four years' probation and a fine of 500000 yuan, and the administrative fine paid was offset by the fine.

Typical significance: This case is a typical example of "criminal attack + ecological restoration" in the case of illegal occupation of agricultural land. While punishing crimes according to law, the court actively promotes the implementation of the responsibility for compensation and restoration of ecological environment damage, which embodies the rule of law principle of "who destroys, who restores". The case also clarifies the rules of offsetting administrative penalties and criminal fines, strengthens the judicial protection of the whole chain of the ecological environment, and demonstrates the firm attitude of the judiciary in promoting the construction of ecological civilization.