SAITAMA, Japan, Nov. 12 (Kyodo) — The president of a company in Saitama Prefecture and his company have been ordered to pay fines of 1 million yen each over the illegal export of a pump to China that could be used to make lethal chemicals, local officials said Saturday.
The 62-year-old president of pump maker Shin-Toyo Kikai Kogyo Co. based in Koshigaya, Saitama, and the company received the orders after the president was determined to have violated the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law by the Saitama summary court.
According to prosecutors, the president exported the pump in December 2008 to an automotive steel sheet maker in Guangdong Province without the authorization of the Japanese industry minister.
The pump could be used to produce lethal chemicals, such as sarin, as it can withstand violent chemical reactions because of its fluorinated resin coating.
Police have found no evidence that the pump was used to produce lethal chemicals.
