Three Chinese managers found guilty of manslaughter over deadly Italian factory blaze
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 13 January, 2015, 9:48am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 13 January, 2015, 9:55am
Agence France-Presse in Rome
Lin Youli (left, obscured) and her husband Hu Xiaping (face covered) leave the Italian tribunal where they were tried for manslaughter. Photo: AP
Three Chinese managers of a Tuscany-based garment factory were found guilty of multiple manslaughter by an Italian court, a year after a deadly fire at the plant left seven people dead.
Judge Silvia Isidori gave the stiffest sentence – eight years and eight months in jail – to Lin Youlan, the principal manager of the Teresa Moda factory in the city of Prato, which churned out cheap clothes in the largely Chinese manufacturing district in Tuscany.
Her sister, Lin Youli was sent down for six years and 10 months, while Youli’s husband Hu Xiaping was given six years and six months.
All three were inside when the blaze struck in December 2013. They managed to escape while others were trapped by bars on the windows.
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Eleven workers had been living and sleeping in close quarters on makeshift plasterboard beds in the factory when the fire broke out.
The Italian owners of the building are being tried separately.
The fire spurred Italian authorities to beef up safety standards enforcement. Italian authorities have raided nearly 2,000 Chinese factories over the last several years, closing more than 900 for safety and labour violations.
The factories have generally thrived even as Italy’s economy lags.
The fire also exposed the pursuit of profit over safety in Italy. Prosecutors alleged the factory’s fire exit was blocked by piles of flammable fabric.
Prato is officially home to about 17,000 Chinese nationals, according to official data from 2010, but local sources say the real figure is closer to 50,000.
The presence of the Chinese garment workers is not always welcomed in the city, where numerous Italian firms have been forced to shut, unable to compete.
Despite efforts to clamp down on illegal businesses and dangerous working conditions, shuttered warehouses often reopen elsewhere.
