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Toulouse - Tongan rugby star Finau Maka will appear at a Toulouse court on Tuesday on charges of exploiting a Tunisian immigrant who lived in a shed in his garden and worked for him illegally.
Maka is accused of lodging the illegal resident in unacceptable conditions, employing a foreigner with no legal papers and forcing him to work on the black, according to Michel Valet, a public prosecutor in the southwestern city.
The Tunisian, identified only as Anis, has claimed that between 2006-10 he carried out renovation work on and then maintenance of Maka's house in the Toulouse suburb of Beauzille.
He said he was not paid for the work, but that Maka had sent some money to his mother in Tunisia, while he was lodged in a shed at the bottom of the garden measuring four square metres.
The 33-year-old Maka, who was placed in police custody for 24 hours in May in connection with the case, denies the charges, saying he had acted out of charity in offering the destitute Tunisian work and board.
Maka, who made his name in nine seasons with Top 14 outfit Toulouse, winning two European Cup titles in 2003 and 2005 and the French league in 2008, signed this year for second division side Aix-en-Provence.
The backrower, who moved to New Zealand as a child and spent fours seasons in the Super 14, is targetting a place in Tonga's 2011 World Cup squad.
He was one of the personalities of the 2007 World Cup with his distinctive afro hairstyle and combative style of play.
Maka is accused of lodging the illegal resident in unacceptable conditions, employing a foreigner with no legal papers and forcing him to work on the black, according to Michel Valet, a public prosecutor in the southwestern city.
The Tunisian, identified only as Anis, has claimed that between 2006-10 he carried out renovation work on and then maintenance of Maka's house in the Toulouse suburb of Beauzille.
He said he was not paid for the work, but that Maka had sent some money to his mother in Tunisia, while he was lodged in a shed at the bottom of the garden measuring four square metres.
The 33-year-old Maka, who was placed in police custody for 24 hours in May in connection with the case, denies the charges, saying he had acted out of charity in offering the destitute Tunisian work and board.
Maka, who made his name in nine seasons with Top 14 outfit Toulouse, winning two European Cup titles in 2003 and 2005 and the French league in 2008, signed this year for second division side Aix-en-Provence.
The backrower, who moved to New Zealand as a child and spent fours seasons in the Super 14, is targetting a place in Tonga's 2011 World Cup squad.
He was one of the personalities of the 2007 World Cup with his distinctive afro hairstyle and combative style of play.
