CAPE TOWN- Seven Chinese nationals arrested for alleged human trafficking and child labour have made an admission of guilt for violation of South Africa’s labour laws, while they still face trial for other charges.
Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian are facing schedule six offences, and several other counts, including trafficking in persons, contravention of Immigration Act, kidnapping, pointing a firearm, debt bondage, benefitting from the services of a victim of trafficking, conduct that facilitates trafficking, illegally assisting person(s) to remain in South Africa, and failure to comply with duties of an employer.
They were arrested by the Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) together with SAPS, the Department of Home Affairs and the Hawks.
They have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The Department of Employment and Labour noted that in the high court in Johannesburg last week, the accused admitted failure to maintain a safe work place or adhere to occupational health and safety (OHS) Act, and failure to report incidents of injury to the Compensation Fund, among others.
Malawian citizen Alfred Magwaya, 32, testified that he lost his left eye in the Chinese-run factory, operating a dangerous machinery, without protective clothing.
Magwaya told the court that he earned R65 a day, below the National Minimum Wage which was R20 per hour at the time.
He told the court that he accepted the payments because he left Malawi due to poverty.
“Treatment at the place was not good and the place could make one sick,” he said.
A father of five children, Magwaya said he could not send any money back home because all his salary was spent on food.
The factory was allegedly processing the inner cotton of blankets using recycled clothing.
The attorney representing the Chinese nationals, Jannie Kruger, dismissed Magwaya’s testimony saying “you are singing in a choir”.
Cape Times