Beijing, May 1 (IANS) A couple in northwest China have been sent to jail for keeping 18 mentally-disabled people as slaves and forcing them to work without pay, officials said.
Li Xinglin, owner of a construction material factory in Xinjiang Uygur region, was sentenced to four-and-a-half-years in prison, while his wife was given a two-year term, China Daily reported citing a court statement.
Each of them was fined 50,000 yuan (about $7,650).
The couple was convicted of forcing their employees to work and causing serious accidents.
Police told the court they had enslaved the workers from 2006 to December 2010, forcing them to work in a bitter environment, without protective gear or pay.
