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Melbourne couple charged with slavery and abuse of an Indonesian woman

Just now2 articles from 2 sources

Consensus Summary

A Melbourne couple, Chee Kit Chong and Angi Yeh Ling Liaw, are on trial for allegedly enslaving an Indonesian woman in their Point Cook home from early 2022 until she fled in October. The woman, a pastor who met Chong in Malaysia in 2015, was allegedly subjected to severe abuse including beatings, sleep and food deprivation, and forced labor. Chong allegedly controlled her movements, demanded she work off a debt, and even suggested she pay one million dollars to leave. Both sources confirm the woman’s injuries—swollen ear, lacerations, malnutrition—were documented at St Vincent’s Hospital after she escaped. The couple deny the allegations, with Chong’s lawyer suggesting the woman may have exaggerated. The case highlights the vulnerability of undocumented workers, as the woman’s unlawful immigration status was allegedly exploited. While both articles agree on core facts, details like the woman’s initial sleeping arrangements and specific punishment methods vary slightly between sources.

✓ Verified by 2+ sources

Key details reported by multiple sources:

  • Chee Kit ‘Max’ Chong and Angi Yeh Ling Liaw are facing trial in Victoria’s County Court for slavery-related offences, both pleading not guilty
  • The alleged victim was a 61-year-old Indonesian woman who lived with the couple in their Point Cook, Melbourne home from January 2022 until she fled in October 2022
  • The woman was allegedly subjected to beatings, restrictions on food, sleep, and movement, and forced to perform domestic labor including cooking, cleaning, and massaging Chong’s legs
  • Chong allegedly told the woman she could leave only if she paid one million dollars, otherwise she had to stay
  • The woman presented to St Vincent’s Hospital in October 2022 with injuries including a swollen ear, laceration to the foot, leg swelling, and malnutrition indicators
  • The couple first met the woman in Malaysia in 2015 when she was a pastor at Chong’s church, and she later moved to Melbourne with them in 2017
  • The couple allegedly left the woman homeless in Malaysia for four years (2017–2021) without informing her they had returned to Australia
  • The woman’s death in 2024 is unrelated to the case
  • Chong is charged with intentionally possessing a slave and three counts of common assault; Liaw is charged with assisting or encouraging the slavery offence

Points of Difference

Details reported by only one source:

NEWSCOMAUSTRALIA
  • Prosecutor Shaun Ginsbourg SC explicitly stated the woman described the relationship as ‘He’s a master, I’m a maid. I’m a helper only’
  • The woman was allegedly forced to sleep on the stairs or in the garage after initially being given a bedroom
  • The prosecutor mentioned the woman had to borrow money from her family and church members to help Chong due to his financial problems
  • The woman’s alleged statement that Chong told her she could leave for one million dollars was framed as a direct quote in the prosecutor’s summary
  • The trial is expected to run for several weeks before Judge Michael Cahill
ABC News
  • The ABC article includes a specific mention of the woman being hit with a vacuum cleaner after falling asleep during a leg massage
  • The ABC article notes that the woman was ordered to stand up all night to prevent her from sleeping
  • The ABC article highlights that local medical clinics and a hospital documented the woman’s injuries in the final months of her ordeal
  • The ABC article includes a direct quote from Chong’s defence lawyer Diana Price stating ‘there may be reasons [the complainant] may exaggerate or embellish or say things that are untruthful’
  • The ABC article mentions that Chong told police he had offered the woman a place to stay because she was homeless and provided various explanations for her injuries, including diabetes and assault by homeless people

Contradictions

Conflicting information between sources:

  • NEWSCOMAU reports the woman was allegedly forced to sleep on the stairs or in the garage after initially being given a bedroom, while ABC does not specify the initial sleeping arrangements beyond her being controlled
  • NEWSCOMAU states the woman was allegedly told she could leave if she paid one million dollars, but ABC does not include this exact figure or phrasing in its summary of the prosecutor’s case
  • NEWSCOMAU mentions the woman had to borrow money from her family and church members to help Chong, while ABC does not reference this financial context beyond Chong’s alleged money problems
  • NEWSCOMAU’s prosecutor explicitly stated the woman was allegedly deprived of sleep and food as punishment, while ABC’s prosecutor’s summary focuses more on the physical assaults and control over tasks
  • ABC includes a specific claim that Chong allegedly hit the woman with a vacuum cleaner after she fell asleep during a leg massage, which is not mentioned in NEWSCOMAU

Source Articles

NEWSCOMAU

Family kept woman as slave: court

A woman was allegedly beaten and had restrictions placed on her sleep and food consumption as she worked as a slave in a Melbourne home, a jury has been told....

31 March 2026
ABC

Melbourne couple allegedly beat and starved woman enslaved in their home

A court has heard an Indonesian woman was allegedly threatened and coerced to provide domestic services while living with a Melbourne couple....

31 March 2026