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Jury Deliberates on NZ’s First Human Trafficking Trial
Jury Deliberates on NZ’s First Human Trafficking Trial
Nelson High Court
The Jury in New Zealand's first human trafficking trial at the Nelson High Court has retired to begin deliberations of this landmark case.
Stand Against Slavery Chief Executive Peter Mihaere, who has been a constant observer at the trial, suggests that, "It is not a cut and dry case and I can't predict clearly which way the jury will swing. This trial has been a challenging exercise for everyone in the courtroom and it will take time for the jury to pour over the evidence to make a decision on the two types of charges that are before them in this hearing.”
The first set of ten charges comes under the Crimes Act where Jaswinder Singh Sangha has been accused of enducing a group of workers to enter New Zealand by deception. Jaswinder’s brother Satnam Singh has been jointly accused with five of these first ten charges. The second set of eleven charges comes under the Immigration Act where Jaswinder Singh Sangha and a third man with name suppression are accused of supplying false testimony to a refugee status officer.
It is predicted that the deliberations may spill over into Saturday when a verdict is hoped be delivered to the court.
Mihaere went on to say, “Whatever the outcome, New Zealand has finally come of age with this trial. Exploiters and human traffickers should take careful note. If they insist on exploiting people in this manner, officials will hunt them down and prosecute. In addition, if a person believes they are themselves being exploited they should take heart and come forward to officials. Alternatively they can be confidentially interviewed as part of an academic research project that is being conducted at the moment. Simply go to www.workerexploitation.co.nz for details of that research."
Mihaere was also granted access, by Justice Dobson, to the court file for further study and analysis and will publish a number of articles and academic papers during 2016 giving readers a peek into the details of this case.
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