Chinese Farmer Studies Law for 16 Years to Sue Chemical Company That Polluted His Land

New Delhi: In order to sue a chemical company that allegedly polluted his land, Wang Enlin spent 16 years studying law by himself.

Enlin, according to the report in People's Daily Online, has now won the first instance in the high-profile case against the state-owned Qihua Group.

The 60-year-old petitioner alleges that Qihua first dumped their hazardous waste near his land in 2001. Since then, the company has reportedly released 15-20 thousand tonnes of annual chemical waste from its polyvinyl chloride plant near the city of Qiqihar in north-east China.

According to a government-cited report, the company reportedly created a 71-acre wasteland with calcium carbide residue and a 478-acre pond with its liquid waste.

To file the suit, Enlin was forced to copy out information by hand in a bookshop, after he paid the owner with sacks of corn. The farmer, who had dropped out of primary school in the third grade, started reading through a dozen law books with the help of a dictionary.

In 2007, a Chinese law firm specialised in handling pollution-related cases started providing free legal advice to Enlin. They also agreed to help the villagers file petition to the court.

Due to unspecified complications, though, the court only began processing Enlin and his neighbours' case in 2015 - eight years after the original petition had been made, People's Daily Online reported.