Student latest victim in slave kidnappings
By Li Qian |
May 10, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
POLICE in a southwestern Chinese town are investigating the disappearance of a university student two weeks ago, said to be among 10 men thought to have been kidnapped in the area for slave labor or by human-organ traffickers in the past five years.
The men were reported missing near a busy crossroads in Jincheng Town in Yunnan Province.
The student, Han Yao, 20, and seven others aged 12 to 22 vanished between May 2007 and April 25.
Another two men, Lei Yusheng and Hao Yunkun, described as slightly mentally challenged, also disappeared in the area. Lei fled from a brick kiln where he was forced to work and tipped off police, who raided the factory on Monday morning.
But police didn't reveal any details as the probe is ongoing, the Beijing Times reported yesterday.
Lei said he was "suddenly pulled to a yellow minivan" as he was on his way to a barber shop on April 7, and was driven to a kiln around 100 kilometers away.
The Guangxi native lived with other 30 youngsters and worked 14 hours a day without pay. They were fed plain noodles or rice, and slept two in a single bed in shabby rooms.
"We would be beaten if we slowed down," he said, adding that they were not allowed to talk to each other.
The 24-year-old man was able to escape 18 days later. Unnamed witnesses told the paper that some other slave laborers also ran away afterwards.
Parents of the missing were told the kidnappers used a minivan that stopped in front of a toilet near the path.
The location was near a provincial highway, with a small electric substation and a 30-employee cold storage factory on either side.
Three teenagers from nearby Nanmen Village, including Chen Tao, and three employees from the factory, including Cai Yunwei, were on the missing list, the paper said.
Last May, authorities in Guangdong Province in southern China freed 14 workers, including three teens, from a kiln where they were abused and forced to work 15 hours a day.
Workers were either tricked or abducted by a middleman paid 400 yuan (US$62) for each laborer. Every time the victims tried to flee, the owner would beat them and demand they repay the 400 yuan before leaving.
The men were reported missing near a busy crossroads in Jincheng Town in Yunnan Province.
The student, Han Yao, 20, and seven others aged 12 to 22 vanished between May 2007 and April 25.
Another two men, Lei Yusheng and Hao Yunkun, described as slightly mentally challenged, also disappeared in the area. Lei fled from a brick kiln where he was forced to work and tipped off police, who raided the factory on Monday morning.
But police didn't reveal any details as the probe is ongoing, the Beijing Times reported yesterday.
Lei said he was "suddenly pulled to a yellow minivan" as he was on his way to a barber shop on April 7, and was driven to a kiln around 100 kilometers away.
The Guangxi native lived with other 30 youngsters and worked 14 hours a day without pay. They were fed plain noodles or rice, and slept two in a single bed in shabby rooms.
"We would be beaten if we slowed down," he said, adding that they were not allowed to talk to each other.
The 24-year-old man was able to escape 18 days later. Unnamed witnesses told the paper that some other slave laborers also ran away afterwards.
Parents of the missing were told the kidnappers used a minivan that stopped in front of a toilet near the path.
The location was near a provincial highway, with a small electric substation and a 30-employee cold storage factory on either side.
Three teenagers from nearby Nanmen Village, including Chen Tao, and three employees from the factory, including Cai Yunwei, were on the missing list, the paper said.
Last May, authorities in Guangdong Province in southern China freed 14 workers, including three teens, from a kiln where they were abused and forced to work 15 hours a day.
Workers were either tricked or abducted by a middleman paid 400 yuan (US$62) for each laborer. Every time the victims tried to flee, the owner would beat them and demand they repay the 400 yuan before leaving.
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