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Chris Lau

A Pakistani victim of forced labour in Hong Kong has lost his legal bid to compel the government to create a dedicated new offence for trafficking workers.
Ending the man’s near-five-year legal pursuit, the Court of Final Appeal on Friday upheld the lower court’s ruling that the administration had no duty to enact specific legislation against human trafficking for the purposes of exploitation, servitude or forced labour.
The court found the city already had other “patchwork” offences, such as criminal intimidation and assault, which could target human trafficking, and therefore did not need a bespoke offence.
And the lack of a tailor-made charge, it found, was not what caused the suffering of the aggrieved man, identified as Zn, who was beaten and forced into work between 2007 and 2010.
‘Evil’ modern slavery must be outlawed under new offence, judges told
But one top judge warned the relevant authorities not to take their victory as a licence to relax efforts against human trafficking.
“Practical and effective protection of ... rights should ensure that a case like the present is a rare and isolated one,” Justice Joseph Fok wrote in a judgment handed down on Friday.
The court heard how the authorities had shunted Zn between different departments when he told them about his plight, before filing his legal action. Fok said Zn’s treatment was rightly described when the government’s lawyer referred to it as “disgraceful” during the appeal hearing.
“No one should be treated like I was,” said Zn, who recalled living in fear of “inhuman treatment” by his employer, who has never been prosecuted.

“I hope that by bringing this case it can make Hong Kong realise they should not force vulnerable people like me to sue them before starting to listen and take action,” he said.
The 35-year-old launched his legal challenge in 2015 after suffering for years at the hands of rogue employers.
Between 2007 and 2010, he was tricked into work that involved packing mobile phones in a Tsim Sha Tsui office for up to 15 hours a day without pay, while being threatened and assaulted, before he was forced home.
He returned to the city illegally in 2012 to claim more than HK$200,000 (US$25,480) in unpaid wages, but found himself shunted from one government department to another as each claimed his grievances were not within its remit.
That led him to file the present case against the police, the Immigration Department, the Labour Department and the Department of Justice.
He argued that his plight amounted to a breach of Article 4 of the Bill of Rights Ordinance, which prohibits slavery, servitude and forced labour, and gave rise to an absolute duty on the part of the city government to enact a specific offence to target those crimes.
Courts at all levels found Zn was a victim of forced labour. But the Court of Appeal, siding with the government, overturned a Court of First Instance finding that his case should prompt officials to legislate. The case therefore landed at the top court.
New offences for human trafficking, forced labour not needed, top court told
Writing on behalf of four other judges, Fok on Friday said the city’s Bill of Rights prohibits human trafficking for the purpose of slavery, but does not go as far as referring to servitude or forced labour.
He added that the government should be free to decide on anti-trafficking policies, as long as they prove effective.
There are other charges under the Crimes Ordinance and the Immigration Ordinance which could serve the same purpose, and the government has taken action, he said, citing among other initiatives a multi-department investigation team set up by the police.
“Given the range of offences of which the employer might have been charged, the failure by the [government] to investigate [Zn’s] case could not, realistically, be said to have occurred because of the lack of a specific offence criminalising forced or compulsory labour,” Fok wrote.
But Human rights lawyer Patricia Ho, who represented Zn, warned the judgment meant the government was “not off the hook”, saying the court had affirmed the administration’s duty to ensure effective protection for those at risk.
A spokesman from the Security Bureau said the government welcomed the judgment.
“We attach great importance to combating trafficking in persons as well as all forms of conduct prohibited under Article 4 of the Bill of Rights,” he said.


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Human trafficking

Pakistani victim of forced labour in Hong Kong loses Court of Final Appeal bid to create new human trafficking offence

The man identified in court as Zn, pictured in 2018, has lost his case at the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Human trafficking victim ZN (centre), the man at the centre of Hong Kong's first judicial review on human trafficking, photographed in Wan Chai. 20SEP18 [FEATURES] SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Hong Kong judges told ‘evil’ trafficking for forced labour must be outlawed under dedicated new offence

Zn, a human trafficking victim, is at the centre of a judicial review to improve protections for those forced to work without pay and other deplorable conditions. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

This picture taken on October 13, 2019 shows Indonesian migrant workers praying at Victoria Park in Hong Kong. - There are more than 370,000 domestic workers, overwhelmingly women from Indonesia and the Philippines, who keep Hong Kong ticking, often toiling for little pay and living in cramped conditions. But over the last four months of huge and increasingly violent pro-democracy rallies, the areas where domestic workers rest on Sundays have frequently become battlegrounds between police and protesters. (Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP) / TO GO WITH HongKong-unrest-politics-China,FOCUS by Yan ZHAO

Hong Kong does not need new offences for human trafficking and forced labour, government lawyer tells Court of Final Appeal

The horrific experience of forced labour victim Zn is at the centre of a landmark judicial review of the government’s response to modern day slavery. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Lord David Pannick arrives at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom hearing on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to prorogue parliament ahead of Brexit, in London, Britain September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime


City’s most senior judges side with government when victim tries to compel administration to legislate specifically for labour trafficking
‘Zn’ launched judicial review in 2015 after years of abuse by bosses



Court of Final Appeal sides with government when victim tries to compel administration to legislate specifically for labour trafficking.


Hong Kong courts

Crime in Hong Kong

Crime

Pakistani victim of forced labour in Hong Kong loses Court of Final Appeal bid to create new human trafficking offence

City’s most senior judges side with government when victim tries to compel administration to legislate specifically for labour trafficking ‘Zn’ launched judicial review in 2015 after years of abuse by bosses

City’s most senior judges side with government when victim tries to compel administration to legislate specifically for labour trafficking

‘Zn’ launched judicial review in 2015 after years of abuse by bosses