Fugitive factory boss arrested

A garment factory boss who fled while owing employees more than 600,000 yuan in back pay has been arrested in Zhuhai .

The boss of the Zhuhai Nanxi Jincuntian Clothes Manufacturing Company, identified only as Qiu, had told his 200 employees they would be paid at the start of the year, but instead fled with the company assets during the New Year holiday, Xinhua reported.

A court ruled at the end of last year that the company, which exported jeans to Europe and the US, also owed suppliers 690,000 yuan, but it never paid the sum. Instead, the company continued production until January despite having its assets frozen and did not pay its workers for three months. The workers then sought help from the media.