SEOUL - The Seoul District Court April 5 decided to force Albert McFarland, vice-chief of a mortuary at the 8th U.S. Army garrison in Yongsan, to stand trial for ordering the dumping of toxic waste into the Han River.

The decision is in accordance with the prosecution’s summary indictment of the U.S. Army official. On March 23, the prosecution sought to impose a fine of 5 million won on McFarland in summary court.

The prosecution’s move touched off immediate protests from environmentalists and civic right activists demanding a stiffer punishment for his illegal activities.

"It is wrong that a case which evoked such a high degree of public concern is referred to summary court instead of regular court," said Oh Jae-sung, a judge at Seoul District Court.

"As investigation reports show that the probes of the dumping incident were not carried out in a thorough manner, I order the case to be handed over to a regular court," he said.

The 56-year-old U.S. official was reportedly interrogated twice over his alleged role in the dumping of formaldehyde into the Han River through the mortuary’s sewage system.

The prosecution has come under fire for seeking a summary indictment for McFarland, after dragging the case along for more than five months.