Berry bad: Ex-boss faces 5 years for human trafficking scandal

Finnish prosecutors are gunning for a hefty five-year prison sentence for the former head of a berry company and his Thai business partner over shocking human trafficking charges.

The Lapland District Court kicked off the trial yesterday, August 13, with the duo facing a staggering 77 counts of aggravated human trafficking. Jukka Kristo, the ex-CEO of Polarica, and his Thai associate, Kalyakorn Phongpit, are accused of subjecting Thai berry pickers to forced labour and appalling conditions in Finland back in 2022. Both men have firmly denied the charges.

According to the prosecution, the Thai workers endured substandard living conditions, with some accommodations lacking basic facilities like showers. Meals were reportedly inadequate, consisting of items such as boiled chicken legs, salmon heads, and raw liver.

Upon arrival, the workers’ passports and return flight tickets were confiscated by staff, leaving them fearful of repercussions if they voiced complaints about their treatment, one worker reportedly told investigators.

“We were threatened with penalties if we didn’t meet the berry picking quotas.”

The contracts issued to the Thai workers included clauses that would penalise them for not meeting berry collection targets. Despite several months of labour, many workers found themselves in debt to the berry company.

Prison sentences

Prosecutors are also seeking the forfeiture of nearly one million euros in criminal proceeds from Kristo and Phongpit, in addition to the prison sentences.

In a connected case, Olli Sorainen, a senior adviser at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, is set to stand trial in Helsinki. Sorainen faces charges of accepting a bribe and breach of official duties, with accusations that he was aware of the workers’ complaints as early as 2020 but failed to take action.

Despite knowing about the grievances, Finnish authorities did not intervene in the berry companies’ operations or halt the recruitment of more workers from Thailand.

Meanwhile, in Thailand, the Department of Special Investigation continues to gather evidence for a case involving several high-ranking officials and two former ministers. These individuals are accused of demanding 36 million baht from a job broker in exchange for facilitating the deployment of Thai workers to Finland.

The poor treatment of Thai workers in Finland led Thailand to temporarily halt the travel of berry pickers to the country, pending the renegotiation of terms with Helsinki. Recently, the two nations reached an agreement, and on August 2, the Ministry of Labour announced that 900 Thai labourers would be sent to Finland for the upcoming berry harvesting season, reported Bangkok Post.

Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn stated his intention to visit Finland next month to monitor the conditions of the workers.

“This bilateral cooperation aims to ensure that the benefits, welfare, and security of the workers are protected and to encourage more workers to go work in the country in the future.”