Jian Li sentenced to home detention over Christchurch motel worker exploitation

Jian Li was sentenced to seven and a half months’ home detention in Christchurch District Court on 28 October 2026 after pleading guilty to seven migrant exploitation charges involving four motel managers, NZ Herald reported. The workers generally received pay for 40 hours a week despite working as many as 98 hours.

The charges followed an Immigration New Zealand investigation into the workers’ employment at 315 Motel Riccarton. Li operated Fei Huang Teng Da, the company trading as the motel, during the period covered by the case, according to NZ Herald. Chris Lynch Media describes him as its former owner and operator.

What the motel managers were required to do

The workers were also denied minimum wage and entitlements under the Holidays Act, including annual leave and time and a half for work on public holidays, the reports said. Three remain in New Zealand on valid work visas; the fourth has left the country.

Company reparations and Li’s sentence

Fei Huang Teng Da pleaded guilty to seven migrant exploitation charges and was sentenced in May 2026, while Li was outside New Zealand. The company was ordered to pay $115,077.26 in reparations to the four workers, an amount Chris Lynch Media reported has since been paid.

Li’s lawyer sought community detention for him, but the court rejected that request because of the seriousness of the offending, according to both reports.

Immigration New Zealand investigations national manager Jason Perry said the workers had effectively run the motel from morning until night, seven days a week, while receiving pay for only a fraction of their hours. He said migrant workers have the same workplace rights as anyone else in New Zealand, and that breaches disadvantage employers who follow the law.