On Wednesday, 7 Chinese nationals were sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the crime of trafficking and forcing laborers from Malawi, a country in southeastern Africa, to work in local factories.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the seven individuals were convicted on February 25, 2025, for their involvement in illegally transporting 91 undocumented Malawians to the industrial area of “Village Deep” in the southern part of Johannesburg between 2017 and 2019. These laborers were forced to work in a cotton factory operated by “Beautiful City Pty Ltd”, a company owned by Chinese nationals. The factory was surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, with armed security guards monitoring the workers.
In November 2019, South African police raided the factory and arrested those involved, revealing that the Malawian workers were kept in overcrowded, poorly ventilated conditions with limited mobility, lack of basic human rights, and no access to proper healthcare.
The court records identified the seven defendants as Shu-Uei Tsao, Biao Ma, Hui Chen, Qin Li, Zhou Jiaquing, Junying Dai, and Zhilian Zhang, aged between 42 and 58. They were found guilty by the Gauteng South Division High Court of violating charges related to human trafficking, unlawful detention, immigration, and labor laws, each sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors had initially sought life imprisonment, highlighting that the victims worked 11 hours a day, 7 days a week, without legal contracts, salary protections, safety training, or protective measures. Some workers were injured while operating faulty machinery but did not receive proper medical care.
According to an official statement from the Department of Employment and Labour in South Africa, the 91 victims included several minors. Most of them were originally working in Chinese factories in Malawi and were lured to South Africa under false promises. The government emphasized that this case involved a serious transnational criminal network, and South Africa had a responsibility to punish offenders according to the law, sending a judicial signal of deterrence, punishment, and correction.
During the trial, many victims testified that they were secretly transported to the factory in windowless trucks, deprived of their freedom upon arrival, prohibited from leaving, forced to work on holidays, forbidden from contacting the outside world, and not allowed to bring their own meals. Their living and working conditions were extremely harsh.
Currently, the South African government is collaborating with Malawian authorities to assist in repatriating the victims and investigating the companies involved and their funding sources. Authorities stated that this case is not just about the individual criminals but also represents a systemic crackdown on the exploitation of illegal immigrant laborers and human trafficking networks.