A Finnish district court has sentenced Vernu Vasunta, the chief executive officer of the berry company Kiantama, to three and a half years in prison for 62 counts of aggravated human trafficking involving Thai workers.
The website dailyfinland.fi highlighted that Vernu’s associate, Thai national Kalyakorn Phongphit, was sentenced to three years for similar charges.
Kiantama, Finland’s prominent berry company, alongside the two defendants, has been ordered to pay over 600,000 euros (22.5 million baht) as compensation to the workers, covering legal and trial expenses.
According to the court, Thai berry pickers recruited for the 2022 harvest were deceived regarding their expected income and living conditions. Once in Finland, they encountered exploitative conditions akin to forced labour.
During a 10-week season, each picker harvested between 2,400 and 4,000 kilogrammes of berries, yet most only earned a few hundred euros after deductions for travel, food, accommodation, and vehicle expenses.
The ruling also noted that supervisors often collected workers’ passports, and many had signed debt agreements before their arrival, leading to dependency on the company. Workers were not informed about their right to sell berries independently.
The defendants’ lawyers plan to appeal the decision. The unanimous verdict has reignited scrutiny on Finland’s seasonal labour system and the vulnerability of foreign workers within the berry industry, according to Yle.
Public concern in Finland over foreign berry pickers’ treatment has persisted. Following previous scandals and police investigations that led to trafficking charges against berry companies, reforms were implemented in 2024, mandating formal employment contracts and salaries for foreign workers.
In 2022, the Finnish Supreme Court sentenced a berry company owner to one year and 10 months in prison, marking one of the country’s initial trafficking cases involving berry purchasers, reported Bangkok Post.
In similar news, a British national has been handed a 21-year prison term after being convicted of human trafficking linked to a notorious Pattaya bar, according to the Bangkok Criminal Court.
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