Seven Chinese nationals jailed to 20 years for human trafficking in South Africa

The South Gauteng High Court has sentenced seven Chinese nationals to 20 years in prison for human trafficking, kidnapping and forced labor, including minors under the age of 17.

The group includes Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying and Zhang Zhilian, appeared in court on Wednesday.

They were found guilty on February 25 of multiple Schedule 6 offences, including human trafficking, contravention of labor laws, and violating the Immigration Act.

Judge David Mhango handed down the sentence following the group’s conviction for operating an illegal factory in Village Deep, south of Johannesburg, where they were found holding multiple undocumented immigrants, including children, under locked and unsafe conditions.

The accused were arrested in 2019 after law enforcement received a tip about the factory, which operated under the name Beautiful City (Pty) Ltd. 

The raid, carried out in November 2024, led to the rescue of 37 Mozambican nationals, including minors under the age of 17, who had reportedly been smuggled into the country in shipping containers and forced to live and work in inhumane conditions.

Spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, Colonel Katlego Mogale said the group faced several charges.

The charges included aiding and facilitating human trafficking, bondage, benefiting from the exploitation of victims, and assisting illegal immigrants to remain in South Africa.

Mogale said the factory failed to register its business, maintain financial records, or provide safe working conditions, in violation of multiple labor laws.

The case was then handed to the Trafficking in Persons team in the Serious Organized Crime Investigation unit, who, through diligence and unwavering determination, saw the case through to conviction and sentencing, she said.

IOL News