Sema Fonkem 10/09/2025

Seven Chinese nationals found guilty by Gauteng South Division High Court on 158 out 160 charges related to human trafficking, forced labour involving 91 Malawians, and breaking immigration law have each been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The Chinese individuals were convicted in March 2025 for trafficking of minors and adults of Malawian origin into South Africa and subjecting them to forced labour including beatings and other forms of harsh punishment.

Court found that the victims worked for very long hours with low wages, no weekends off and in some cases, they had to endure a 24-hour shift while being starved. There was no sick leave and being absent from work due to ill health meant dismissal or deduction of payment.

The victims were forced to operate heavy industrial machinery without any formal training and this led to some of their limbs or fingers cut off during operations. In a particular case, one of the men lost his sight when a wire struck his eye.

The victims were forced to buy their toiletries and other basic needs at very high prices from the factory where they were being held captive. In addition, when they fell sick, they could only acquire medication from stores owned by the Chinese nationals.

The defendants  Shu-Uei Tsao, 42; Biao Ma, 50; Hui Chen, 50; Quin Li, 56; Zhou Jiaquing, 46; Junying Dai, 58; and Zhilian Zhang, 51 threatened the victims with their guns when they attempted any form of protest.

While the accused have been sentenced to deter other perpetrators, the poor treatment of illiterate Malawians still remain a serious problem across Chinese owned shopping centres like Dragon City on Park drive in Fordsburg and China malls in Johannesburg.

The main suspect known as Mister Chan in the case is still at large.