Factory owner 'enslaved' workers
A former garment factory-owner convicted of enslaving, starving and beating his workers in American Samoa was ordered to pay $1.8m (€1.5m) in compensation and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Kil Soo Lee was convicted more than two years ago of conspiracy, extortion, money laundering and 11 counts of involuntary servitude at Daewoosa Samoa Ltd. The factory made clothes for JC Penny and other retailers before it was closed.
It was the biggest human-trafficking case in US history.
More than 200 Chinese and Vietnamese workers were held at Daewoosa for more than two years, until 2001 when the US National Labour Relations Board and the Department of Labour stepped in.
Against the advice of his lawyer, Lee, a South Korean, spoke before the sentencing, claiming he was innocent and the evidence against him was fake. “It’s quite unbelievably unfair,” Lee, 52, said in Korean through an interpreter.
Lee’s attorney, Earle Partington, said he was filing an appeal. The trial should have gone before the High Court of American Samoa instead of the US District Court in Hawaii – 2,300 miles away, he said.
“There’s no connection with Hawaii whatsoever,” Partington said.
US District Judge Susan Oki Mollway yesterday said she imposed the maximum sentences on the charges of involuntary servitude because the crimes Lee committed were so widespread and “horrible”.
She said she alo was concerned with promoting respect for the law. “This may end up being the equivalent to a life sentence, but even if it doesn’t, Mr Lee will be an elderly man by the time he gets out,” she said.
US Attorney Ed Kubo said he was satisfied with the sentence.
“I sincerely hope this case serves as a strong deterrent to anyone who would even dare to think that they can treat another human being in such an inhuman manner,” Kubo said.
