Prosecution in the Chinese trial on human trafficking and child labour files an application for bail forfeiture
The prosecution in the trial of seven Chinese nationals charged with human trafficking and child labour has called on the court to cancel the bail and forfeit the bail money of accused number two to the state for violating his bail conditions.
Prosecutor Valencia Dube today filed a Section 66 application against accused number two Chen Hui. The accused was on bail of R55 000. He also had a previous criminal record.
Section 66 of the Criminal Procedure Act provides for the execution against movable property. It further allows for immovable property to be sold in execution.
The accused in the trial are: Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian. The accused are facing schedule six offences.
In a testimony by Investigating Officer Lulama Kona, accused number two, Chen Hui was in 2020 granted a bail of R55 000 with bail conditions attached. The bail conditions were that accused two (Chen Hui) was to stay at a unit occupied by accused number one (Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei) who had a physical address, that the accused was to report at Cleveland Police Station daily and that the accused should not leave the province of Gauteng without the knowledge of the investigative officer.
However, on 18 September 2022, Kona received an SMS from officers at Lebombo Border post in Mpumalanga that the accused was travelling to Mozambique, but he was denied access to cross the border and was arrested. In his affidavit the accused claims that he was visiting his Mozambican wife.
Kona testified that the accused passport was in her possession and that the one he was using when he was arrested showed that it was issued on 21 July 2022 by the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) Consulate-General in Johannesburg. She said this was despite her informing the PRC Embassy about the legal challenges of the accused and that they should not issue the accused any travel documents until the legal matter was completed.
“It seems as if this was a well-planned bid by the accused to leave the country. The Court should note that it is easier for the accused to get passports,” Kona said this was the second attempt by the accused to skip the country. She said her job has now been made difficult as she had to keep an eagle eye on the accused. She appealed to the State to forfeit the accused bail money because the accused does not respect South Africa’s judicial system.
Kona told the Court that she had expected accused number one to report the ‘disappearance’ of accused number two as he was staying at his place of residence and was released under his care.
Accused number seven Zhang Zhilian also tried to flee via OR Tambo International airport and was nabbed and her bail money has since been confiscated by the state.
According to J. Kruger representing the accused – that the accused violated his bail conditions was not an issue. Kruger argued that it is the responsibility of the Court when
granting bail to clearly spell out the conditions. He said the argument that when the other accused were granted bail were handed to the responsibility of accused number one because he had a ‘permanent’ address was unfair.
He said the Courts cannot set bail conditions as wide as ‘grace of God”.
“A Court is a Court of Justice,” he said there was no evidence that accused number one was at fault by not reporting the whereabouts of accused number two. “The Court should remit the bail to the depositor. It is not in the interest of justice for the State to forfeit the money,” he said.
The Chinese 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.
Chen Hui (number 2) and Zhang Zhilian (number 7) are now in custody for violating their bail conditions. The other five accused are out on bail.
The trial has been postponed to 20 June 2023 for further hearing.
For more information, contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 082 697 0694
E-mail: Teboho.Thejane@labour.gov.za
