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360+ 'slaves' rescued
13/08/2007 23:30 - (SA)
Beijing - Hundreds of mentally handicapped people have been rescued from slavery in Chinese brickyards and other workplaces, officials said on Monday as they announced the latest findings of a labour abuse crackdown.
At least 1 340 people, including 367 who are mentally handicapped, have been taken from brick kilns, mines and other forced labour situations since a slavery scandal in June, Labour and Social Security Deputy Minister Sun Baoshu said.
The June scandal centred on brickyards and shocked the nation. Previous government figures had put the number of slaves rescued from the kilns at 570 and there were few earlier references to widespread use of handicapped workers.
The crackdown has also now resulted in 147 arrests, according to Sun, whose comments were posted on a website run by China's State Council, or cabinet.
The brick-kiln scandal
Sixty people, including a police officer and social worker, have already been convicted for their involvement in the slavery scandal, according to previous reports carried in the state-run press.
In the most severe penalty, one man was last month (July) sentenced to death after being portrayed in the media as one of the main villains at a notorious brick kiln.
China also announced last month (July) that 95 members of the ruling Communist Party had been punished, but most just escaped with warnings.
The brick-kiln scandal surfaced in June after about 400 distraught parents posted a plea on the internet about their children who had been sold into slavery in northern China's Shanxi province and neighbouring Henan.
They made their case public after police and local authorities refused to help find their children. Authorities only took action after the internet postings caused widespread anger among ordinary Chinese.
The crackdown has now targeted workplaces employing 12.67 million workers, said Sun, who also heads the joint investigation group involving his ministry, the Ministry of Public Security and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
The probe found that 67 000, or nearly one quarter of the workplaces inspected nationwide, were operating without licenses.
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