Melbourne man jailed for enslaving a vulnerable woman in 2022
Consensus Summary
Chee Kit Chong, a 47-year-old Malaysian man, was sentenced to six years in prison for enslaving a vulnerable woman in his Melbourne home between January and October 2022. The victim, a woman in her 60s, was subjected to starvation, sleep deprivation, and forced labor, including cleaning, childcare, and providing domestic services without pay. She escaped in October 2022 and later died of natural causes in 2024. Chong’s wife, Angie Liaw, was acquitted of assisting in the crime in May. The case highlights modern slavery in Australia, with authorities emphasizing the need for better awareness and support systems for victims. Chong will serve a non-parole period of four years and is expected to be deported to Malaysia after his sentence, with parole eligibility set for 2030.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Chee Kit Chong, 47, was sentenced to six years in prison for slavery and assault offences.
- The victim, a woman in her 60s, was kept as a slave from January 2022 to October 2022.
- The victim escaped Chong’s Melbourne home in October 2022.
- Chong’s wife, Angie Liaw, was acquitted of assisting in slavery in May.
- The victim died of natural causes in 2024.
- Chong will be eligible for parole in 2030.
- Chong will likely be deported to Malaysia after serving his sentence.
- The victim was deprived of food, sleep, and medical assistance while enslaved.
- Chong controlled the victim’s access to the outside world and forced her into unpaid domestic servitude.
- The case involved a Point Cook, Melbourne, address.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The victim slept on the stairs or in the garage during captivity.
- Chong threatened and coerced the victim to provide domestic services, including massaging his feet.
- The AFP launched an investigation after the victim presented at an emergency department in Melbourne with significant injuries.
- Judge Peter Cahill described Chong’s moral culpability as high and his treatment as 'callous and cruel'.
- The victim was a Malaysian national.
- The victim was an Indonesian woman aged in her 60s.
- Chong bashed and starved the victim between February and October 2022.
- Chong smashed the victim’s head through a wall and kicked her in the face.
- Chong initially told friends he was paying the victim up to $5,000 per month (though this was untrue).
- The victim requested crackers and small food items from a local charity to hide from Chong.
- The victim was unaccounted for for over several days after escaping.
- The couple met the victim in Malaysia in 2015, where they became close.
- The victim had been homeless and worked as a street vendor in Australia before living with Chong.
- Chong repeatedly badgered the victim for large sums of money to pay rent and hospital bills.
- The victim was 61 years old.
- Chong used the victim as an unpaid labourer to clean his house, care for his children, and provide domestic services like massages.
- The Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner Chris Evans cited the case as an example of modern slavery in Australia.
- Research by St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne found 100 survivors of modern slavery accessed healthcare during exploitation.
Where the reporting differs
Details that conflict, or appear in only some outlets:
- 7NEWS and THEWEST say the victim was kept as a slave from January 2022, but ABC says the abuse occurred between February and October 2022.
- ABC states the victim was an Indonesian woman, while 7NEWS describes her as a Malaysian national.
- ABC mentions Chong initially charged with hitting the victim with a vacuum cleaner shaft, but that charge was dropped, while 7NEWS and THEWEST do not mention this specific charge.
- ABC says Chong’s wife did not attend the sentencing hearing, while 7NEWS and THEWEST do not mention her absence.
Source Articles
Chee Kit Chong: Melbourne father jailed for keeping woman as slave
The 47-year-old man deprived his victim of basic human rights, making her sleep on stairs and in the garage.
Breaking: Melbourne man jailed for four years for keeping woman as slave
Chee Kit Chong was found guilty of intentionally keeping a slave and assault over his treatment of an Indonesian woman aged in her 60s.
Chee Kit Chong: Man jailed for keeping 61-year-old woman as slave in Melbourne home
An Australian man has been sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of enslaving a woman in his home.
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