Disabled enslaved in China

Authorities have shut down a factory in western China where 11 workers, most of them mentally disabled, were allegedly enslaved for years in deplorable conditions.

The 11 workers at a building materials plant put in long hours, suffered regular beatings and were given the same food as the dogs, the Beijing News said. None of the employees was paid. Some of them had been working for up to four years.

Factory owner Li Xinglin said the workers were legally contracted to work at the facility by an aid agency for the disabled based in Sichuan province. Li claimed he paid the agency a lump sum of 9000 yuan ($1800) for the delivery of five of the workers and then an additional 300 yuan per worker per month.