Ofure Akhigbe
A Johannesburg court on Wednesday sentenced seven Chinese nationals to 20 years in prison each for trafficking and forcing Malawian workers into labor at a factory in South Africa.
The seven were convicted on February 25 for trafficking 91 undocumented Malawian nationals between 2017 and 2019 to work at a cotton fabric factory in Village Deep, an industrial area south of Johannesburg.
Police arrested the group on November 12, 2019, during a raid on the factory, discovering the Malawian workers confined under inhumane conditions, with armed guards controlling their movements. The factory was heavily secured, with high walls and razor wire fencing.
The convicted defendants are Shu-Uei Tsao, 42; Biao Ma, 50; Hui Chen, 50; Quin Li, 56; Zhou Jiaquing, 46; Junying Dai, 58; and Zhilian Zhang, 51. They were sentenced in the Gauteng South Division Court for human trafficking and violations of South Africa’s labor and immigration laws. Prosecutors had initially sought life sentences.
Court documents revealed that the victims were forced to work 11-hour shifts, seven days a week, without proper training or safety equipment. Many had previously been employed at Chinese-owned factories in Malawi and were recruited under false pretenses.
During the trial, victims testified that they were transported in windowless trucks to the factory, prohibited from leaving, and forced to work on holidays. They were banned from personal communication, denied outside food, and made to operate defective machinery without protective gear, leading to workplace accidents.
The ruling underscores South Africa’s commitment to combating human trafficking and protecting the rights of migrant workers.