FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The president of a chemical company has been charged in connection with the unauthorized discharge of oil that left a miles-long dark, oily sheen on the Flint River in Michigan more than two years ago.
Rajinder Singh Minhas, 60, of Rochester, Michigan, was arrested and arraigned last week on charges of falsely altering a public record, substantial endangerment to the public, discharge of injurious substance to waters of the state, false statements and omissions regarding air pollution control and other charges, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Monday.
Minhas also served as director and treasurer of Flint-based Lockhart Chemical which manufactures coatings, metalworking additives, hydraulic fluids and lubricants.
Critical maintenance and upgrades at the facility allegedly were mismanaged and neglected, Nessel said in a release.
About 15,000 gallons of an oil-chemical mixture was released June 15, 2022. The spill came from a storm sewer that discharges into the river, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said at the time.
The state later required the company to immediately stop using defective wastewater and stormwater conveyance systems and to make other changes. Lockhart has since filed for bankruptcy.
Officials said Flint’s drinking water was not threatened. Flint used the river for drinking water in 2014-15 before lead contamination caused the city to return to Lake Huron water provided by a regional supplier.
Minhas has been released on a personal bond and is due back in court Jan. 2 for a probable cause conference, according to court records.
The Associated Press attempted Monday to reach Lockhart Chemical for comment, but the telephone number listed for the company was disconnected. A voicemail seeking comment was left Monday afternoon for Minhas' attorney.
City, Genesee County and state of Michigan agencies respond to an oil spill in the Flint River, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. (Jake May/MLive.com/The Flint Journal via AP, File
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police on Tuesday announced a fresh round of arrest warrants for six activists based overseas, with bounties set at $1 million Hong Kong dollars for information leading to their arrests.
According to the warrants, the six are wanted for national security offences such as secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces. They include Tony Chung, the former leader of now-defunct pro-independence group Studentlocalism.
U.K.-based Carmen Lau, a former district councilor and current activist with the Hong Kong Democracy Council, as well as Chloe Cheung, an activist with the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, also had warrants issued against them.
The latest round of warrants signals that the Hong Kong government is targeting vocal critics based abroad.
The government had previously issued two rounds of arrest warrants and bounties for more prominent activists, including ex-lawmakers Ted Hui and Nathan Law.
The increasing number of wanted individuals abroad come as Hong Kong continues to crack down on political dissent following massive anti-government protests in 2019 that resulted in a wave of pro-democracy movements. Many outspoken pro-democracy activists have since been jailed, with others fleeing abroad.
Chung, the former Studentlocalism leader, said in a story posted to Instagram that he was “honored” to be the first Hong Konger to be accused of violating the national security law twice.
“As a staunch Hong Kong nationalist, today's wanted notice is undoubtedly a kind of affirmation for me. In the future, I will continue to unswervingly and fearlessly promote the self-determination of Hong Kong," he wrote.
Separately, Cheung, who is based in the U.K., said in an Instagram post that “even in the face of a powerful enemy, I will continue to do what I believe is right.”
“How fragile, incompetent, and cowardly does a regime have to be to believe that I, a 19-year-old, ordinary Hongkonger, can 'endanger' and 'divide' the country? How panicked are they that they have to put a million-dollar bounty on me?” she asked.
Lau posted on X a call for governments, including those of the U.K., U.S., and EU countries, to “impose sanctions on Hong Kong human rights perpetrators without further delay" and urged democracies to support Hong Kong's right to self-determination.
"The Hong Kong government’s latest round of arrest warrants and bounties against six Hong Kong activists is a cowardly act of intimidation that aims to silence Hong Kong people," said Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch.
“The six — including two Canadian citizens — live in the U.K. and Canada. We call on the U.K. and Canadian governments to act immediately to push back against the Hong Kong government’s attempts to threaten Hong Kongers living in their countries.”
Tuesday's arrest warrants take the total number of wanted people to 19.
Others on the list Tuesday are Chung Kim-wah, previously a senior member of independent polling organization Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute; Joseph Tay, co-founder of Canada-based NGO HongKonger Station; and YouTuber Victor Ho.
Separately Tuesday, the Hong Kong government issued orders for the cancellation of passports belonging to seven "absconders", including ex-lawmakers Hui and Dennis Kwok, who are wanted under the security law.
The orders were made under Hong Kong's domestic national security law — known as Article 23 — and also prohibits the seven from dealing with funds in Hong Kong as well as activities related to joint ventures and property.
FILE - Pro-independence demonstrator Tony Chung, left, marches during an annual New Year protest in Hong Kong on Jan. 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
