The head of a gang of Chinese cockle pickers was jailed for 14 years today for the manslaughter of 21 people who drowned off northwestern England two years ago.
A court in Preston near Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, where the immigrants died, convicted Lin Liang Ren last week after a trial lasting nearly six months.
Today he was sentenced to 14 years in jail for manslaughter, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and facilitating illegal entry into Britain.
The court also jailed Lin's girlfriend Zhao Xiao Qing to two years and nine months for perverting the course of justice and immigration offences. His cousin Lin Mu Yong was jailed for four years and nine months.
Judge Richard Henriques said Lin had "cynically and callously exploited his workers".
The disaster happened in February 2004 during a night-time dig for cockles, edible molluscs buried beneath the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay.
The bay sands are widely believed to hold millions of pounds worth of cockles, a delicacy especially popular in Spain.
The Chinese, many of whom could not swim, had gone far out as the sea retreated but were caught by surprise when the tide turned and the waters started rushing back in.
Li Hua, the only one to be rescued alive, said: "In less than a couple of minutes the water level came to such a high level we just could not move, literally."
Asked what he thought of Lin Liang Ren, he said "I hate him. And I think he is a very cruel person. For his own profit he caused so many people to lose their lives."