Slave-labor case sentencing delayed

By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press

Confusion over statements by a garment factory owner has led to the rescheduling of his sentencing for enslaving workers from Vietnam and China in American Samoa.

U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway ordered Kil Soo Lee on Thursday to undergo a mental evaluation after Lee's attorney, Earle Partington, told the court that he couldn't communicate with Lee. The judge rescheduled sentencing from Thursday to May 6.

Partington said Lee was inconsistent and indirect in answering his questions.

Lee was convicted Feb. 21, 2003, of conspiracy, extortion, money laundering and 11 counts of involuntary servitude.

The South Korean national faces a maximum of 20 years for each count of involuntary servitude and a maximum 10 years for each of the remaining charges — conspiracy, money laundering and extortion.

Lee was the owner of Daewoosa Samoa, which made clothes for J.C. Penney Co. and other retailers before its closure.

The trial had to be heard in Honolulu because American Samoa, a U.S. territory, does not have a sitting federal judge.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that the defendants ordered beatings for employees who disobeyed, had workers starved, and threatened deportation if they spoke out about conditions.

Two of Lee's managers, Virginia Solia'i and Robert Atimalala, were found not guilty on all charges.