Several officers of a corporation were charged with various breaches of fiduciary duty due to the operation of a pirated waste disposal site without a license and without proper infrastructure, while causing severe environmental hazards.
The Court held that only some of the officers were guilty of breaching fiduciary duty imposed on them as officers. When it comes to offenses for which the liability is strict, there is no need to show that the officer had criminal intentions or that he acted negligently, and it is sufficient to prove that the offense was committed in order to impose liability on the officer. In the case of such strict liability, an officer will be found to bear no liability only if he can show that he acted without criminal intent and took all reasonable measures to prevent the offense. Here, some of the officers committed the offenses themselves and therefore have criminal intent and cannot content to have taken measures to prevent them. Meanwhile, some of the other officers warned the authorities about the offenses and tried to prevent them, including through legal proceedings initiated against other officers, and therefore have taken all reasonable measures to prevent the offense and cannot be held liable.