Eric Gottardi: Mumtaz Ladha

Mumtaz Ladha: The trial began Wednesday for Mumtaz Ladha, accused of luring the 21-year-old woman to Canada with the promise of a job in a hair salon, only to force her to work up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week without pay in her mansion in the swanky British Properties neighbourhood, according to CTV. "This person was a companion who came with Mrs. Ladha and basically was treated like a member of the family," Gottardi said outside the court following the first day of the trial. "The issue of work and what is work and who was doing what around the house -- those will be some of the issues at trial." VANCOUVER -- A woman accused of human trafficking and forcing a domestic servant to work in virtual servitude in her multimillion-dollar West Vancouver home simply brought a family friend from Tanzania to Canada, says her defence lawyer. But lawyer Eric Gottardi said the alleged victim was no servant and did not work in the Ladha home. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.