SHANGHAI, Jul 10 (AP) -- SHANXI prosecutors have arrested another 19 suspects in the slave-labor scandal at brick kilns, the Procuratorial Daily reported today.

These suspects lured people to work in brick kilns by promising them a high wage, the report said.

Kiln owners employed people to monitor workers and forced them to work more than 10 hours per day.

Kiln workers had no freedom and would be beaten for working slowly. They didn't get any pay after months of work, the report said.

The use of slave laborers hit the headlines after more than 400 parents in Henan posted a call-for-help letter on the Internet last month, saying their missing children had been sold to small brick kilns in Shanxi and Henan.

The forced labor scandal sparked a nationwide outcry and the central government ordered an immediate probe.

So far, 359 people, including 12 children, have been rescued from illegal kilns in Shanxi and police had arrested 38 people as of June 22.

A Shanxi court has begun a trial of five men charged in connection with the forced labor scandal at a brick kiln in Shanxi's Hongtong County.

The five suspects were charged with manslaughter or illegal detention.