5 stand trial over brick kiln scandal
[ 2007-07-05 09:18 ]
Five people went on trial in northern China yesterday for their involvement
in the brick kiln slave labor scandal that shocked the country.
Those
facing charges at the Intermediate People's Court of Linfen in Shanxi Province
are kiln boss Wang Bingbing, foreman
Heng Tinghan and hired guards Zhao Yanbing, Heng Mingyang and Liu Dongsheng.
They are each accused of illegal detention, forced labor and
mayhem, the court said.
As
the case involved so many people, no verdict was reached yesterday, the Xinhua
News Agency quoted a court official surnamed Hu as saying.
The trial
will continue and a verdict will be reached as soon as possible, Hu said.
However, the local media was unsatisfied with the charges, saying the
suspects should be also accused of human trafficking and child labor.
The use of slave workers in northern and central China, many of them
children, caused public outrage across the country after 400 parents posted an
online petition in late May, saying their missing children had been sold to
illegal brick kilns in Shanxi and Henan to work as slaves.
After the
case was exposed, police raided a kiln in Caosheng village in Hongtong County in
Linfen and freed 31 workers, the youngest of which was 14. They had been forced
to work for up to 16 hours a day with little food and no pay. Fierce dogs and
thugs prevented them from escaping.
Investigations also found that a
mentally disabled worker named Liu Bao had died in November after being beaten
with a shovel. He was also later buried without proper documentation.
Foreman Heng was listed as the suspected chief villain in the scandal
and was captured in Central China's Hubei Province last month after a nationwide
manhunt.
Another of the
so-called "thugs", Chen Zhiming, was, as of Tuesday, still at large. The
Ministry of Public Security has issued an order for his arrest.
China's
Criminal Law states that anyone who illegally detains another person and causes
severe body injury shall receive a minimum sentence of three years. Capital
punishment can be meted out if death is involved.
Also yesterday in
court, one victim, 17-year-old Zhang Wenlong, who was seriously burnt by hot
bricks, appealed for compensation of 500,000 yuan ($66,000). Other victims have
made similar requests, but for lesser amounts, according to local media reports.
Xiao Han, a professor with China University of Political Science and
Law, said the victims should also receive State compensation as the case might
involve dereliction of duty on the part of the local police and government
officials.
At least one village-level Communist Party secretary - Wang
Dongji, the father of kiln owner, Wang Bingbing - has been expelled from the
Party.
The trial is expected to be the first of many connected to the
scandal.
Official figures show that a cleanup operation by police has so
far freed 591 workers from illegal kilns in Shanxi and Henan and detained 168
suspects.
(China Daily 07/05/2007 page 4)
Vocabulary:
foreman：包工頭
mayhem：故意傷害罪
manhunt：（對(duì)逃犯等的）搜捕
（英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Linda 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from
Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong
and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation, producing current affairs shows and
documentaries. |
