Italian Farmer Jailed For Leaving Indian Worker To Die After Accident

ROME, July 9 (dpa) -- An Italian farmer was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Wednesday for leaving an Indian farm worker to bleed to death after an accident in a field.

A court in Latina, south of Rome, found the 39-year-old guilty of intentional homicide.

The case caused outrage far beyond Italy in 2024 and drew attention to the sometimes inhumane working conditions faced by labourers from Asia, who toil in Italian agriculture for extremely low wages.

The 31-year-old worker, named as Satnam Singh, was caught in a machine while working in a field south of Rome. His right arm was severed, and his legs were crushed.

Instead of taking him to hospital, his employer drove him in a van to his accommodation and left him there. The severed arm was found next to him in a fruit crate. Singh died in hospital a day and a half later.

He had come to Italy with his wife in 2021. According to estimates, around 230,000 people are employed illegally in Italian agriculture, including many migrants from countries such as India and Pakistan, who work for hourly wages of €3 ($3.40) or €4, or even less.

The accident occurred in a field near the village of Borgo Santa Maria, about 60 kilometres south of Rome, where melons and zucchini in particular are grown.

Singh was caught in a machine used to cover large areas of fields with plastic.

His wife told investigators: "I begged the owner to help us, I begged him on my knees. But he dropped us off in front of the house and ran away."

Neighbours eventually called the emergency services. Singh was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Rome, where he died as a result of his injuries.

The employer said he had panicked. Prosecutors had sought a 22-year prison sentence. Appeals are still possible.

--NNN-dpa