Melbourne couple charged with slavery and abuse of Indonesian woman
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 escaped in October. Both have pleaded not guilty to charges including slavery and assault, with prosecutors alleging the woman was subjected to beatings, food and sleep deprivation, and forced labor as punishment for perceived failures. The couple allegedly exploited the woman’s vulnerable immigration status, controlling her movements and demanding domestic work in exchange for shelter. She suffered injuries including malnutrition and physical trauma before fleeing to a hospital, where staff documented her condition. The couple claims they took her in out of pity, denying forced labor or abuse, though their explanations for her injuries conflict with medical evidence. The woman, who had lived with them for months, died in 2024 unrelated to the case, leaving her allegations as the primary evidence in the trial.
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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 ‘ran away’ in October 2022
- Mr Chong is charged with intentionally possessing a slave and three counts of common assault; Ms Liaw is accused of assisting or encouraging the slavery offence
- The woman was allegedly forced to cook, clean, massage Mr Chong’s legs, and sleep on the stairs or in the garage while her movements and communications were restricted
- The woman presented to St Vincent’s Hospital in October 2022 with injuries including a swollen ear, laceration to the foot, swelling to her legs, and indicators of malnutrition
- The couple allegedly left the woman homeless in Malaysia for four years (2017–2021) after moving there without informing her
- The woman died in 2024, unrelated to the case
- The trial began in early 2024 and is expected to run for several weeks
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Prosecutor Shaun Ginsbourg SC stated the woman described the relationship changing to ‘He’s a master, I’m a maid. I’m a helper only’
- Mr Chong allegedly told the woman she could leave if she paid a million dollars, otherwise she had to stay
- The woman was initially given a bedroom but later forced to sleep on the stairs or in the garage
- The couple married in September 2017 and returned to Malaysia for a period without telling the woman, leaving her homeless
- The woman was working at an op shop in early 2022 when Mr Chong asked her to assist his family for a month after their second child was born
- The woman’s injuries included ‘grossly swollen ear, laceration to the foot, swelling to her legs’ as noted by hospital staff
- Ms Liaw’s defence lawyer Daniel Gurvich KC stated there was ‘very little evidence’ related to Ms Liaw’s involvement
- The woman was beaten and deprived of food, with prosecutors stating she was ‘forced to sleep on the stairs or garage’
- Mr Chong allegedly hit the woman with a vacuum cleaner after she fell asleep during a leg massage
- The woman was ordered to stand up all night to prevent sleep and locked in the garage as punishments
- Mr 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
- Ms Liaw told police the couple had met the woman on the streets of Melbourne and taken pity on her because she was homeless
- The woman’s injuries were noted by ‘local medical clinics and a hospital’ in the final months she lived with the couple
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- NEWSCOMAU reports the woman was a pastor at the church Mr Chong attended in Malaysia in 2015, while ABC does not mention her role as a pastor
- NEWSCOMAU states the woman was 61 years old when she lived with the couple, but ABC does not specify her age
- NEWSCOMAU says the woman was initially given a bedroom but later forced to sleep on the stairs or in the garage, while ABC states she was forced to sleep on the stairs or garage from the start
- NEWSCOMAU reports the woman was working at an op shop in early 2022 when asked to assist the family, but ABC does not mention this detail
- ABC states Mr Chong told police he had met the woman on the streets of Melbourne, while NEWSCOMAU states they first met in Malaysia in 2015 at a church
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