A court in Rwanda has sentenced a Chinese mining engineer to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of tying his workers to a tree and whipping them.

A Chinese citizen was convicted Wednesday in Rwanda on charges of torture, according to Rwandan media reports.

Last year, a video circulated online showing Sun Shujun, the Chinese national, flogging two Rwandan workers, who had been tied to a tree.

Shujun said the two men had stolen minerals from his company, Ali Group Holdings Ltd,, Rwanda’s KT Press reported.

The Chinese Embassy in Kigali condemned the “unlawful acts” in a statement at the time, according to local media.

This is not the first time Chinese nationals working in Africa have been accused of abusing their local workers. In Zimbabwe in 2020, a Chinese coal mine owner shot and wounded two local workers after they complained about wages they were owed.

Source: Voice of America