Hubei: disabled still forced to work in brick kilns

According to China Labour Bulletin, a prestigious publication for workers' rights, the situation arose when the summer of 2008 a worker was beaten to death by other workers in a brick factory in Huangpi, north of Wuhan. The local inspection office begun investigations which revealed about 5 thousand illegal workers, who were later regularized.

It has also been revealed that in February 2008, a certain Ye Huabing enticed a dozen mentally disabled and homeless at the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan and brought them to his factory in Huangpi, where he forced them to work all day without pay. In July, one of them was tortured by his own comrades because they had been disturbed during the midday break. When Ye discovered the corpse, he immediately buried in a nearby field. His identity is still unknown.

Two months later, police arrested Ye and 6 people believed to be involved in the murder. In September 2009, the principal manager Longhai Lin Ye was sentenced to life imprisonment and 3 years in prison for forcing him to work and another 3 years for having destroyed evidence of the murder.

The report was aired on 25 January and on the same day, the local authorities claimed to have immediately launched an operation to "rectify the work and stamp out illegal criminal behaviour", ensuring that a campaign against organized crime was already in progress.

But many wonder why they are still inadequate controls, given the scandal has emerged as a serious and recurrent.