Three men have been detained for forcing mentally disabled beggars to work in a factory in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Sixteen laborers were forced to carry produce all day without pay in a factory in Wanggang Village, Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday.

Police freed the beggars, sending 15 home and one to a mental health hospital.

The three accused, former workers at the factory, are accused of stealing the laborers' pay totaling about 8,000 yuan (US$1,259), the report said.

They told police they came up with the idea after hearing the factory was seeking porters. They scoured the streets for mentally disabled beggars.

One of three, surnamed Ni, told police: "We asked them whether they would like to work for us and said we would provide food. If they said yes, we took them to the factory."

The report said Ni and his two partners kept the beggars in a three-room shelter.

Police said theft-proof windows were installed in the shelter, which contained some bed platforms and damp quilts, with no toilet and no protective clothing or equipment. The captives were fed only rotten vegetables, the report said.

The investigation into the actions of Ni and his partners continues.

This is not the first slavery scandal in China. Officials at the Quxian County Homeless Shelter in southwest China's Sichuan Province were arrested for trafficking 11 homeless people, eight of whom were mentally retarded, to work in a quarry in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region last December.