Christchurch motel owner sentenced for migrant worker exploitation

Jian Li, the former owner of 315 Motel Riccarton, has been sentenced to seven and a half months of home detention by the Christchurch District Court. Li pleaded guilty to seven charges of migrant exploitation under the Immigration Act.

An investigation by Immigration New Zealand revealed that between February 2017 and December 2021, four migrant workers employed as motel managers were forced to work between 84 and 98 hours per week. Despite these extensive hours, they were generally only paid for 40 hours. The workers were required to live on-site and staff the reception from 7:30 am until 9:30 pm daily.

In addition to unpaid wages, the employees were denied minimum wage entitlements, public holiday pay, and annual leave under the Holidays Act. Li’s company, Fei Huang Teng Da, was previously ordered to pay over $115,000 in reparation to the four victims. While Li's legal counsel requested community detention, the court rejected the plea due to the severity of the offending.