https://www.thedailystar.net/backpa...ts-nz-couple-bangladesh-origin-jailed-1742194
A couple of Bangladeshi origin, who ran a sweets-making business in New Zealand’s Auckland, have been jailed for their two-year exploitation of Bangladeshi migrant workers.
Mohammed Atiqul Islam and Nafisa Ahmed were jointly charged by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) with several offences, including deceptively arranging the entry of two Bangalee nationals into the country, New Zealand Herald newspaper reported on Friday.
The couple, both New Zealand citizens, were also charged but found not guilty at a lengthy Auckland District Court trial of human trafficking.
It was one of only a handful human trafficking prosecutions in New Zealand’s legal history, the daily said.
Atiqul, a company director in his late 30s, was found guilty on 10 charges of exploitation and seven other immigration-related offences.
He was found guilty of a further three charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Nafisa, an accountant in her mid 30s, was jointly found guilty of seven exploitation charges relating to the five victims.
The pair’s offending was uncovered after two of the chefs at the Royal Sweets Cafe, also known as the Royal Bengal Cafe, complained to New Zealand authorities about the conditions imposed on them.
The chefs’ passports were also confiscated immediately after they arrived in New Zealand from Bangladesh after responding to advertisements for work in Bangla newspapers.
Judge Brooke Gibson said the chefs had “suffered grievously”.
Working long hours, the employees were paid just $6 an hour, were not paid for all of the hours they worked or any holiday pay, the court heard.
A couple of Bangladeshi origin, who ran a sweets-making business in New Zealand’s Auckland, have been jailed for their two-year exploitation of Bangladeshi migrant workers.
Mohammed Atiqul Islam and Nafisa Ahmed were jointly charged by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) with several offences, including deceptively arranging the entry of two Bangalee nationals into the country, New Zealand Herald newspaper reported on Friday.
The couple, both New Zealand citizens, were also charged but found not guilty at a lengthy Auckland District Court trial of human trafficking.
It was one of only a handful human trafficking prosecutions in New Zealand’s legal history, the daily said.
Atiqul, a company director in his late 30s, was found guilty on 10 charges of exploitation and seven other immigration-related offences.
He was found guilty of a further three charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Nafisa, an accountant in her mid 30s, was jointly found guilty of seven exploitation charges relating to the five victims.
The pair’s offending was uncovered after two of the chefs at the Royal Sweets Cafe, also known as the Royal Bengal Cafe, complained to New Zealand authorities about the conditions imposed on them.
The chefs’ passports were also confiscated immediately after they arrived in New Zealand from Bangladesh after responding to advertisements for work in Bangla newspapers.
Judge Brooke Gibson said the chefs had “suffered grievously”.
Working long hours, the employees were paid just $6 an hour, were not paid for all of the hours they worked or any holiday pay, the court heard.
