Man forced to work at illegal factory for a decade reunited with family after chance encounter at shopping centre
- Wu Fangwen was forced to work at an illegal brickmaking factory for a decade before he escaped
- He was wandering around a local shopping centre when a woman from his village recognised him
“We were very young and we only heard the adults saying the man lost touch with his family after leaving home to work and they couldn’t find him anywhere,” said Wu.
The man, who shares the same surname and is named Wu Fangwen, had been tricked into forced labour by an illegal brickmaking factory when he left home a decade ago. He said the organisation took away his mobile phone and ID card, making it impossible to escape.
Wu Fangwen was forced to make bricks for a decade and was treated terribly, eventually losing his memory because of ill health. Finally, a moment presented itself, and the man was able to run away in February.
With no identification and in ill health, he was left to wander about until aid workers at the regional civil affairs office found him and guided him from Maoming, in Guangdong, to Kaili City, about 850km away.
