Legislature passes tougher penalties for illegal gravel mining

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) The Legislative Yuan on Tuesday passed amendments to the Sand and Gravel Excavation Act that significantly increase penalties for illegal gravel mining in Taiwan, including life imprisonment for offenders whose profit-driven activities result in death.

The amendments were prompted by a high-profile illegal mining case in Meinong District, Kaohsiung, last year. The Cabinet approved the bill in May, and lawmakers passed it Tuesday after strengthening several of the proposed penalties.

Under the revised law, those who excavate without a permit for financial gain face up to five years in prison and fines of up to NT$500 million (US$15.48 million). Authorities may also confiscate vehicles and machinery used in the illegal operation.

Those who fail to restore excavation sites by the specified deadline face fines of NT$100,000 to NT$2.5 million, with repeat penalties until compliance.

If such activities cause a disaster, offenders face one to seven years in prison and fines of up to NT$60 million.

Those whose actions result in serious injury face three to 10 years in prison and fines of up to NT$80 million, while those whose actions cause death face life imprisonment or a prison term of at least seven years, along with fines of up to NT$100 million.

Dubbed the "Grand Canyon of Meinong" clause by local media, the amendments follow the discovery in 2025 of a large-scale illegal excavation operation on privately owned land within a water source conservation area in Meinong.

The operation involved excavating a six-hectare area to an average depth of 15 meters, causing such extensive environmental damage that the landscape came to resemble a "canyon."

Prosecutors said the suspects acquired or leased farmland, illegally extracted sand and gravel for profit, and then dumped construction waste and toxic materials into the pits before covering them with soil in an attempt to conceal the operation.

The illegal activity was uncovered in early 2025 but continued until at least July, despite fines of NT$1 million and NT$2 million being imposed in January and April, respectively.

Prosecutors indicted 106 suspects in February and estimated that the operation generated about NT$300 million in illegal profits.