Six-year jail term for Leisure Clothing boss on human trafficking charges

Two directors of the now-shuttered textiles factory Leisure Clothing have been jailed for six years each after a court of appeals found them guilty of human trafficking.

Leisure Clothing’s managing director Han Bin and marketing director Jia Liu, both Chinese nationals, were given six-year jail terms on Friday and escorted out of court to Corradino Correctional Facility.

The two had been accused of exploiting Vietnamese and Chinese employees of the Bulebel-based factory,  forcing them to work long days with few to no breaks, in poor conditions.

Leisure Clothing was a major textile manufacturer in Malta, sewing garments for high-end labels such as Emporio Armani and Karen Millen. Owned by Chinese firm CICET, it shut down in 2017 following the arrest of the two directors.

The case had come to light in October 2014 after several of the now-closed Bulebel factory's Vietnamese employees had been arrested while attempting to leave the island with false Italian identity documents. The workers had told the police that they had not been paid the agreed wages and that their passports had been withheld by the company. A police investigation followed.

A string of Vietnamese employees had testified to how they would receive €200-€300 monthly – half the amount they had been promised, and well below the minimum wage – for working 12 hours a day, seven days a week and had their passports confiscated by the company upon their arrival.

A magistrate’s court had initially found Bin Han guilty and acquitted Jia Liu. But Bin Han was given a suspended sentence, meaning he did not spend time behind bars. He was arrested in 2015 with marketing director Jia Liu on charges of human trafficking and imposing illegal working conditions.

The Attorney General had appealed that decision.

On Friday, a court of criminal appeal presided over by Edwina Grima found in favour of prosecutors, ruling that the two company directors were guilty and sentencing them each to six years in prison.

The two men must also split the costs of the case, the court ruled. A €200,000 fine against Leisure Clothing was upheld.

Lawyers Edward Gatt, Mark Vassallo and Pio Valletta assisted the appellants.
Lawyer Etienne Savona appeared on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
Lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic represented the parte civile.