Jian Li receives seven and a half months' home detention for motel labor abuses

Four former motel managers in Christchurch will receive just over $115,000 in total financial reparation after a court found their employer systematically underpaid their labor. Jian Li, the former owner of Fei Huang Teng Da, which operates the 315 Motel Riccarton, was sentenced on Wednesday in the Christchurch District Court. He will serve seven and a half months on home detention after pleading guilty to seven counts of migrant exploitation.

Immigration New Zealand conducted the investigation into the business, which Li managed between February 2017 and December 2021. The agency determined that the four employees were required to live on the premises and staff the reception desk from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. During this period, the workers performed their duties seven days a week without adequate compensation for the additional time.

The investigation revealed that the staff were denied minimum wage payments, annual leave entitlements, and extra pay for working on public holidays. Immigration New Zealand stated that the employees generally received payment for only 40 hours per week despite actually working between 84 and 98 hours. The agency described the arrangement as the workers running the motel from morning until night while being paid for only a fraction of that time.

Li’s company entered a plea of guilty to the seven charges in May while Li was outside the country. His lawyer requested that the court assign a sentence of community detention, but the judge rejected that proposal due to the seriousness of the offending. The court instead ordered the home detention term and the reparation payments to the four victims.

Three of the former workers remain in New Zealand holding valid visas, while the fourth has since left the country. Immigration New Zealand officials emphasized that employers should not gain a financial advantage by cutting corners on staff rights. They noted that workers are entitled to minimum protections under New Zealand law regardless of their visa status or country of origin.

The agency added that employers who take advantage of workers who rely on them for both their job and their right to stay in the country will face punishment. The ruling concludes the legal process for the specific charges laid under the Immigration Act, with the financial reparation and home detention term now in effect.

Li is currently serving his sentence at home, while the reparation funds are distributed to the four former managers who provided labor for the motel over the four-year period.