Christchurch motel owner sentenced for exploiting migrant workers

Jian Li has been sentenced to seven and a half months of home detention in the Christchurch District Court. Li, the owner and operator of Fei Huang Teng Da Ltd, pleaded guilty to seven migrant exploitation charges under the Immigration Act 2009. His lawyer's request for a community detention sentence was rejected due to the seriousness of the offending.

The offending involved four migrant workers employed as motel managers at 315 Motel Riccarton between February 2017 and December 2021. These employees were required to live on-site and staff the reception from 7.30am to 9.30pm every day. While working between 84 and 98 hours per week, the staff were generally paid for only 40 hours.

An investigation by Immigration New Zealand found the workers were denied minimum wage and Holidays Act entitlements, including annual leave and time-and-a-half for public holidays. Three of the workers remain in New Zealand on valid work visas, while the fourth has left the country.

Li's company, Fei Huang Teng Da Ltd, was sentenced in May while Li was out of the country. The company was ordered to pay $115,077.26 in reparations, which has since been paid to the four workers.

Where reports differ

• One report spells the company name as Fei Huang Tenga Da Ltd, while others use Fei Huang Teng Da Ltd

Compiled from reports by The Press, Stuff, NZ Herald, Otago Daily Times and 1News.