A Johannesburg court has sentenced seven Chinese nationals to 20 years in prison each after finding them guilty of trafficking Malawian migrants and forcing them into labor at a factory.
The case, which dates back to 2017–2019, revealed how 91 undocumented Malawians were lured to South Africa with false promises of employment. Instead, they were confined at a cotton fabric factory in Village Deep, an industrial hub south of Johannesburg, and subjected to brutal working conditions.
Police uncovered the operation in November 2019 during a raid on the factory, where armed guards monitored the victims behind high walls topped with razor wire. Inside, workers were forced to endure long hours with little rest and no freedom of movement.
Court testimony painted a grim picture: laborers worked 11-hour shifts, seven days a week, without protective equipment, leaving many vulnerable to injuries from faulty machines. They were not allowed to leave the premises, communicate with outsiders, or even bring in food from elsewhere. Some were transported to the site in sealed, windowless trucks.
The seven convicted—Shu-Uei Tsao, 42; Biao Ma, 50; Hui Chen, 50; Quin Li, 56; Zhou Jiaquing, 46; Junying Dai, 58; and Zhilian Zhang, 51—were found guilty of human trafficking as well as violating labor and immigration laws. Prosecutors had sought life sentences, arguing that the victims were subjected to systematic exploitation and abuse.
For many of the Malawians, the ordeal began with recruitment at Chinese-owned factories in Malawi, where they were persuaded to travel to South Africa for what they thought would be better opportunities. Instead, they found themselves trapped in conditions resembling modern slavery.
The ruling marks one of South Africa’s most significant trafficking convictions in recent years, sending a strong message against forced labor and exploitation.