JOHANNESBURG: The Johannesburg High Court is set to hand down sentencing in the case of seven Chinese nationals convicted on 160 charges related to human trafficking and child labour. Sentencing proceedings are scheduled for Friday, 12 September.
The accused: Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian were found guilty on 25 February this year. This followed in-depth investigations by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), regarding the accused secret modus operandi.
Col. Katlego Mogale, national spokesperson for the Hawks, said the accused were convicted of multiple Schedule 6 offences. Charges range from aiding and facilitating human trafficking, bondage, benefiting from the exploitation of victims, and assisting undocumented immigrants to remain in South Africa.
“The convictions follow a high-profile raid conducted in November 2024 at a factory in Village Deep, Johannesburg, which operated under the company Beautiful City (PTY) LTD. All seven accused are associated with the company,” he said.
Acting on a tip-off, Mogale said law enforcement made shocking discoveries, including that the factory was illegally employing foreign nationals.
“The raid by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation led to the rescue of 37 Mozambican nationals, including minors under the age of 17. The victims had been smuggled into the country in shipping containers and forced to live and work under inhumane conditions,” said Mogale.
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