A Chinese national, Lu Ke, widely known as Susu, has been found guilty by a Malawian court on numerous charges, including child trafficking and enlisting children for entertainment purposes.
The court has sentenced him to 12 months in prison, a term already served while in police custody.
Moreover, as part of his sentence, Lu Ke must depart the country within seven days and is permanently banned from returning.
The verdict comes after he was apprehended following a comprehensive investigative report by BBC Africa Eye last year.
The eye-opening report exposed Lu Ke’s disturbing practice of filming Malawian children creating personalized greeting videos, some of which contained racist content.
Shockingly, the videos were being purchased on Chinese social media and internet platforms for a substantial sum, up to $70 (£55) each.
Upon the revelation of his offensive videos, Lu Ke hastily fled to neighbouring Zambia, as Malawian authorities issued an arrest warrant.
He was later detained in Zambia for illegally entering the country and subsequently extradited to Malawi to face justice.
During his time in custody, he was denied bail and had been awaiting his sentencing, which was delivered on Thursday.
In total, Lu Ke faced a staggering 14 charges, including child trafficking, the procurement of children for entertainment purposes, illegal use of the internet, and involvement in harmful social practices.
Throughout the trial, Lu Ke vehemently denied any involvement in creating derogatory videos.
He put forth the defense that he had already paid a significant sum of 16 million Malawian kwacha ($16,000; £12,500) as compensation to the government for the victims and to contribute to social responsibility initiatives within the community.
As part of his reasoning for creating the videos, Lu Ke claimed that his intention was to promote and disseminate Chinese culture to the local community.
However, the court found his actions to be in clear violation of the law, leading to his conviction on multiple charges.
Watch the BBC expose below:
