South Africa’s High Court Sentences Seven Chinese Nationals To 20 years In Jail For “Slave Labour” Factory

The High Court in Johannesburg has sentenced seven Chinese nationals to an effective 20 years in prison for running a factory where workers were treated inhumanely. Their company, Beautiful City, was also fined R300,000.

The case dates back to a 2019 government inspection of the Village Deep factory, which produced cotton sheets.

Authorities found that the majority of the staff were illegal immigrants, mostly from Malawi, including some as young as 15, who were subjected to “horrific” working conditions.

The seven defendants, Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian, had earlier been convicted in February this year on 160 charges. They were found guilty of human trafficking, aiding and facilitating human trafficking, bonded labour, benefiting from victims of trafficking, assisting illegal immigrants to remain in South Africa, failing to register with the Compensation Fund, keeping inaccurate records of earnings, failing to submit returns, neglecting to pay and declare assessments, maintaining unsafe workplaces, and various other labour law violations.

In his ruling on Wednesday, Judge David Mhango described human trafficking, kidnapping, and bonded labour as among the most serious crimes a court can deal with. He said:

“Members of the community are entitled to expect the courts to impose appropriate sentences when it comes to this type of crime.”

The judge said the workers were forced to work extremely long hours without any weekends off.

When they became ill, they had to buy medication from a small shop on the factory premises, with no sick leave provided.

Some workers suffered severe injuries, including amputations from machinery accidents, and one even lost his sight.

South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour, Ntuthuko Mbongeni Jomo Sibiya, who attended the sentencing, said the ruling demonstrates that flouting the country’s laws carries serious consequences, including prison time. He said:

“This groundbreaking case sends a clear message to anyone attempting to exploit our country and its workers: those days are done.

“We are committed to rooting out illegal practices and ensuring that all government departments work collaboratively to protect our citizens and uphold the law.”

Judge Mhango handed down multiple sentences across the various charges, with the heaviest being 20 years for human trafficking.

He ruled that the sentences would run concurrently, meaning the seven would serve an effective 20 years in prison. The judge also declared them unfit to possess firearms.

More: TimesLive