International News

NEW YORK, June 13, (APP/AFP) – Bangladesh’s deputy
consul general in New York appeared in court Monday, charged with labor trafficking and assault for allegedly forcing a household helper to work 18 hours a day without pay for four years.
Md Shaheldul Islam, 45, faced a 33-count indictment for grand
larceny, assault, labor trafficking, unlawful imprisonment, failure to pay the minimum wage and harassment, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
He was arraigned before a Queens Supreme Court judge, who set bail at
a $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash and ordered Islam to surrender his passport.
He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted and has only limited
diplomatic immunity, the district attorney’s office said.
Islam is accused of forcing a Bangladeshi employee to work in his
Queens family home without pay from 2012 until his escape in May 2016.
If the victim disobeyed orders, he was allegedly hit by the defendant’s
hand or a wooden shoe, Brown added.
The victim’s only sources of income were tips from party guests and a
minuscule amount of money that the defendant sent to Islam’s family in
Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh consulate general could not be immediately reached for
comment.