The Johannesburg High Court will hand down sentencing on Wednesday, 10 September 2025 in the case of seven Chinese nationals convicted on 160 charges related to human trafficking and child labor.
The accused-Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian-were found guilty on 25 February 2025 of a range of serious Schedule 6 offences.
They faced multiple charges including aiding and facilitating human trafficking, bondage, benefiting from the exploitation of victims, and assisting illegal immigrants to remain in South Africa.
The case stems from a high-profile raid conducted in November 2024 on a factory in Village Deep, Johannesburg, operated under the company name Beautiful City (PTY) LTD, represented in court by all seven accused.
Law enforcement had received a tip-off about the factory illegally employing foreign nationals wherein the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation #Hawks was summoned for further investigation. The raid led to the rescue of 37 Mozambican nationals-including minors under the age of 17-who had been smuggled into the country in shipping containers and forced to live and work under inhumane conditions. The case was then handed to the Trafficking in Persons team in the Serious Organised Crime Investigation who through diligence and unwavering determination have seen the case to the sentencing of the seven tomorrow, 10 September 2025 at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.