French media: Seven Chinese "bosses" sentenced to 20 years in prison for enslaving laborers and child laborers in South Africa
Africa - September 10, seven Chinese citizens were sentenced to 20 years in prison for forcing more than 90 Malawians (some as young as 14 years old) to work in an underground factory. The four men and three women were arrested in November 2019 when the police raided a down comforter factory in Johannesburg.
Investigations revealed that between 2017 and 2019, the factory employed 91 undocumented Malawians, 16 of whom were between the ages of 14 and 16. The employees had no days off and were forced to work 11 hours a day, locked inside the factory and guarded by people with guns. These seven Chinese citizens were found guilty of 158 charges this February, including human trafficking and enslaving child laborers.
Judge David Mhango said during the sentencing that these Malawians were "lured" to the place on the African continent where labor was most needed and "became slaves," some of whom lost their eyesight and limbs while operating machines. In May this year, South African police rescued 44 Ethiopians who were forcibly detained in a wealthy neighborhood in Johannesburg, including 17 minors.
Source: rfi
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1842921946837002/
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