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Two detained for illegally sending 34 Chinese to Africa

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-16 19:39

BEIJING: Two men have been detained in Beijing for illegally hiring 34 Chinese workers to work in Africa, local media reported on Tuesday.

The two men, surnamed Jia and Cao, promised the workers a monthly payment of 5,000 yuan ($731), and free food and accommodation to work at a construction company in an unidentified African country, according to the Beijing Times.

When the workers arrived in Africa, however, their project appeared to have fallen apart. The African construction company they were supposed to work for was short of cash and unable to buy the raw materials necessary to start the projects – or pay any of its workers. After a month working other part time jobs to get by, the workers turned to the Chinese embassy for help, which quickly arranged for them to be sent home.

Prosecutors investigating the case in Beijing found that Jia and Cao had no license to hire Chinese laborers to work in foreign countries. Nor had they properly completed their due diligence on the construction company they planned to work with in Africa.

Most workers had paid around 10,000 yuan to Jia and Cao get the job offer in the first place, and Cao and Sun had apparently made a total of 500,000 yuan from these payments, prosecutors said.