In Finland, the 'Berry King' Sent to Prison for Exploiting People from Thailand
The Lapland District Court in Finland has issued a ruling in a high-profile case concerning the exploitation of berry pickers, victims of which were labor migrants from Thailand. This was reported by Yle.
According to the court's decision, Jukka Kristo was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, while Kalyakorna “Duriana” Fongfita received nine months imprisonment for 78 counts of human trafficking. Kristo is the former CEO of Polarica Berry Procurement and a business partner of Duriana.
In addition to imprisonment, Jukka Kristo is banned from engaging in entrepreneurial activities for five years and has been stripped of his military rank.
In Duriana's case, the court took into account a previous Lapland District Court ruling, which had earlier sentenced her to three years and six months in prison for 62 counts of human trafficking under aggravating circumstances. This was considered a mitigating factor by the court.
At the same time, the decisions of the first instance court and the current verdict have not yet come into legal force. The prosecutor has already expressed disagreement with the decision and plans to appeal.
According to the district prosecutor, the punishments are too lenient, despite the court recognizing 78 counts of human trafficking.
The prosecution insisted that this was human trafficking under aggravating circumstances and initially demanded five years imprisonment without parole for both defendants. The final demands were six years imprisonment for Kristo and five and a half years for Duriana.
Human trafficking under aggravating circumstances, according to explanations, involves the use of violence, threats, or deception, as well as causing serious bodily harm, life-threatening conditions, or other significant suffering.
The court also ruled on compensation. Kristo, Duriana, and the company Polarica Marjahankinta Oy must jointly pay the victims about 500,000 euros as compensation for financial damage and moral suffering.
Separately, they are obliged to reimburse the state approximately 400,000 euros for the victims' legal fees, as well as another 20,000 euros for evidence collection costs.
Additionally, the court ordered Polarica Marjahankinta Oy to pay a corporate fine of 150,000 euros. The claim regarding proceeds from criminal activities against the company Kristo Invest, which was responsible for placing the pickers, was rejected by the court.
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