A Chinese immigrant from Toronto who was duped into working on one of Manitoba's largest-ever marijuana grow operations has been hit with a stiffer sentence by the province's highest court.

Fai Tan Ng was originally given a one-month penalty after pleading guilty to production of marijuana.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal has now agreed with the Crown's argument the penalty is too light and increased it to a full year.

However, Ng "poses no danger to the community" and will be allowed to serve his sentence in the community, the court ruled.

The arrest of Ng and 27 other accused in 2004 made national headlines and drew a large volume of support for their plight. They were found stacked like sardines inside a tiny home on a sprawling property near Sundown, Man., which housed a multimillion-dollar pot facility.

The accused had all been lured from Ontario to the Prairies with the promise of quick cash in exchange for some "farm labour".

In Ng's case, he had recently lost his job as a cook, had limited ability to speak English and was struggling to support his family.

He was told by a friend of a job that could pay upwards of $500 per day and was eventually put on a bus and driven to Manitoba. It was only upon arrival that Ng and the others realized they weren't going to be dealing with grain or dairy farming.

"Although he realized what was being asked of him, he opted not to leave the farm as he did not have any transportation with which to do so and he really had no inkling as to where he was," wrote Justice Michael Monnin.

Police raided the property just a few weeks after his arrival and seized more than 11,000 mature marijuana plants from four huge greenhouses.

Ng was the second of the 28 accused to resolve his case and pleaded guilty.

The other received time in custody of 18 months because he had been in Canada illegally. He has been deported.