Police in Binh Duong Province arrested a woodworking shop owner after discovering that he has been seriously abusing his employees, apparently leading to the death of one.
The workshop in the middle of rubber plantation
On July 4, Major Ho Van Dung, deputy head of Dau Tieng District Police Department, said they have prosecuted and decided to detain 50-year-old Tran Tan Phong, the workshop owner, for three months for illegally confining his employees.
Phong's workshop was opened in 2010 in Thanh An Commune. He often used 8 to 10 Kh'mer employees aged from 16 to 18. All had little formal education. These employees were hired via brokers in HCM City at a fee of VND500-800,000 each (USD24-38).
Workshop owner Tran Tan Phong
Phong often made false promises of good jobs and wages during the first days, but employees at the workshop had to forfeit all of their belongings. They were forced to work from 4am until 5pm, and some days even until 7pm, and were paid VND2 million per month.
They were banned from using telephone or leaving their rooms at night, even though there is no toilet. All of their activities were monitored by 8 cameras.
The workshop sits alone in a rubber plantation and is protected by high wall. The only way out is the Can Nom Lake behind the workshop, which many employees chose as the escape route.
Unable to endure the harsh life, Son Bo Rot and another friend also tried to escape by swimming across the lake on May 26. However, only the friend was able to reach the other side, Rot drowned.
Rot drowned in Can Nom Lake while trying to escape
A local said if any of the employee tried to escape, Phong would scream out 'robber' and gather groups of people to chase the escapee, even searching other people's houses. When being questioned, Phong only admitted that he locked up employees who he thought might want to escape. He claimed that he did not know why they would want to leave.
On July 8, the investigation team from Dau Tieng District, Binh Duong Province reported that Phong did not pay insurance, follow occupational health and safety procedures or register for temporary residency for his employees.
The team discovered 10 labour contracts which had not been registered with the management agency. In June, Phong also hired six employees without any contracts.
Places where employees were kept
While many people suspect local authorities of covering up the case during the past years, someone spread out leaflets to defend Phong in Thanh An Commune, raising public anger.
The leaflets were then discovered to have come from Thanh An Commune Police Office. Major Ho Van Dung said they are expanding the investigation.
