A factory manager employed at Beautiful City in the trial of seven Chinese nationals charged with human trafficking and child labour today told the Gauteng Division of the High Court (Johannesburg) that no workers were kept in the factory premises against their will.

Testifying during the start of the defence case accused number one - Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei told the Court that it was not true that workers were not allowed to leave the factory.

However, State witnesses had earlier testified that workers at Beautiful City were kept in the locked and high wall premises manned by security guards carrying “guns". 

Tsao Shu-Uei together with fellow co-accused: Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian are facing schedule six offences.

The accused are facing counts of human trafficking, 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.

The Chinese nationals were arrested on 12 November 2019 in a joint operation carried out at their premises of a company called Beautiful City Pty Ltd located at Village Deep in Johannesburg. The joint inspection blitz was carried out by Department of Employment and Labour's Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch together with the South African Police Services (SAPS)/ Hawks Unit and Department of Home Affairs.

Tsao Shu-Uei testified that he was manager of Beautiful City on behalf of an owner who was in mainland China, and he only joined the company in 2019 in either March/April.

Prosecutor Advocate Valencia Dube put it to the accused that he joined the factory earlier and was involved in the setting up of its operations and the signing of lease agreements as early as in 2018. She also told the accused that he was responsible for the recruitment of workers at the factory including a 14-year-old Dick Matola who earlier testified before the Court that he was recruited from a factory in Benoni-Boksburg to work at Beautiful City.

In 2019 the joint Departmental inspection – the operation uncovered illegal immigrants some of whom were minors who are alleged to have been around the age of 15 at the time being subjected to horror working conditions and kept in the locked premises. Most of the migrants were alleged to be Malawian and Zimbabwean nationals. The factory produced cotton fibre sheets.

Tsao Shu-Uei testified today that there were also workers from Mozambique and Congo. He told the Court that he was not aware that when running a factory in South Africa he had to register workers for Unemployment Insurance Fund and Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases. He also admitted that the factory also did not pay tax. He denied suggestions that he trafficked anyone, saying he never forced anyone to work at Beautiful City and that the factory never employed anyone under the age of 18.

The accused also told the Court that he was not aware of existence of National Minimum Wage. He denied suggestions that he failed in his duties as an employer, arguing that “the factory belonged to the owner".  

The trial continues tomorrow (July 2) for further cross-examination of accused number one. He and four other accused are out on bail. Chen Hui (accused number 2) and Zhang Zhilian (accused number 7) are in custody for violating their bail conditions.

The trial started in 2019 in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court during bail hearing and was later transferred to the Johannesburg High Court. 

For more information, contact:

Teboho Thejane

Departmental Spokesperson

082 697 0694 

Teboho.Thejane@labour.gov.za

-ENDS-

Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour

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