GUANGZHOU, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- A textile firm of a Hong Kong-listed company, based in Dongguan in south China's Guangdong Province, has been ordered to pay 11.55 million yuan (1.4 million U.S. dollars) for illicit discharges of excess waste water over the past two years.

This is believed to be the heaviest fine ever for illegal sewage release in the province, said an official with the Guangdong provincial environmental protection bureau in an interview with Xinhua on Sunday.

Dongguan Fuan Textiles Ltd., fully owned by Hong Kong-listed Fountain Set (Holdings) Limited, secretly released more than 10 million tons of waste water over the past two years through a pipe buried underground.

The company admitted that it had received notice of the fine on Thursday, but declined to comment.

The company was fined 210,000 yuan (26,000 U.S. dollars) for the sewage infraction last month. Enditem