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Melbourne couple charged with slavery and abuse of Indonesian woman

Just now2 articles from 2 sources

Consensus Summary

A Melbourne couple, Chee Kit Chong and Angie Yeh Ling Liaw, are on trial for allegedly enslaving an Indonesian woman in their Point Cook home between January and October 2022. The woman, who had a prior relationship with Chong dating back to Malaysia in 2015, was initially invited to stay for a month to help with the birth of their second child but was later subjected to extreme control, violence, and deprivation of food and sleep. Both sources confirm she was forced to perform domestic labor, including massaging Chong’s legs, and punished with beatings and confinement when she failed to meet his demands. Medical records from October 2022 show severe injuries and malnutrition after she fled, leading to police intervention. The couple denies the allegations, with Chong claiming the woman voluntarily assisted them and Liaw stating they took pity on her homelessness. The trial, which began in early 2024, centers on whether Chong’s actions constituted slavery, with prosecutors arguing his behavior—including isolating her, restricting movement, and treating her as property—meets legal definitions of enslavement. The victim’s death in 2024 is unrelated to the case, but her ordeal has drawn attention to vulnerabilities faced by undocumented migrants in Australia.

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Key details reported by multiple sources:

  • Chee Kit Chong and Angie Yeh Ling Liaw, Malaysian nationals, are facing slavery charges in Victoria’s County Court for allegedly keeping an Indonesian woman in slave-like conditions from January 2022 to October 2022.
  • The alleged victim, a 61-year-old Indonesian woman, was initially invited to live with the couple for a month in early 2022 to assist with their second child’s birth but was forced to stay longer.
  • The woman was allegedly beaten, deprived of food, and forced to sleep on the stairs or garage as punishment for not meeting Chong’s demands.
  • The alleged victim was ordered to perform domestic tasks including cleaning, cooking, and massaging Chong’s legs, with violent punishments for failure (e.g., hit with a vacuum cleaner).
  • The woman’s injuries—including a swollen ear, lacerations, and malnutrition—were documented by St Vincent’s Hospital in October 2022 after she fled.
  • Chong and Liaw pleaded not guilty to the charges, with Chong denying ordering tasks or restricting food/sleep, and Liaw claiming they took pity on the woman due to her homelessness.
  • The alleged victim died in 2024, but prosecutors state her death is unrelated to the case.
  • The couple first met the woman in Malaysia in 2015 when she was a pastor at Chong’s church, and she later moved to Australia with them in 2017 on a tourist visa.
  • The couple allegedly abandoned the woman in Malaysia in 2017, leaving her homeless for four years before inviting her back to Australia in 2021.
  • The trial began in early 2024 before Judge Michael Cahill in Victoria’s County Court.

Points of Difference

Details reported by only one source:

ABC News
  • Prosecutor Shaun Ginsbourg S.C. stated Chong told the victim she could leave if she paid a million dollars, framing it as a literal demand for ransom.
  • The defense lawyer Diana Price explicitly mentioned the complainant ‘may exaggerate or embellish or say things that are untruthful’ as a strategy to undermine credibility.
  • ABC included a specific quote from Chong’s defense: ‘There may be reasons [the complainant] may exaggerate or embellish or say things that are untruthful.’
  • ABC noted the woman’s medical records from local clinics and a hospital documented her injuries in the final months of her ordeal.
  • ABC described the victim’s initial stay in 2017 as being cut short when the couple returned to Malaysia without informing her, leaving her homeless for four years.
NEWSCOMAAU
  • Prosecutor Shaun Ginsbourg S.C. described the victim’s financial support for Chong as ‘almost all her money’ to help him with ‘money problems,’ including borrowing from family and church members.
  • NEWSCOMAU included the victim’s direct quote: ‘He’s a master, I’m a maid. I’m a helper only,’ which was not present in ABC’s article.
  • The article emphasized Chong’s ‘intermittent contact’ with the victim over four years after abandoning her in Malaysia, suggesting a calculated effort to re-engage her later.
  • NEWSCOMAU’s defense lawyer Daniel Gurvich KC explicitly stated there was ‘very little evidence’ related to Ms Liaw, implying her role was minimal or unproven.
  • The article highlighted the victim’s employment at an op shop in early 2022 before being invited to work for the couple, a detail not mentioned in ABC.

Contradictions

Conflicting information between sources:

  • ABC states the victim was allegedly told she could leave if she paid a million dollars, while NEWSCOMAU does not mention this specific demand.
  • ABC’s defense lawyer Diana Price explicitly suggests the victim ‘may exaggerate or embellish,’ but NEWSCOMAU’s Gurvich KC focuses on lack of evidence against Liaw rather than credibility issues.
  • ABC reports the victim was allegedly locked in the garage as punishment, but NEWSCOMAU does not specify this exact detail.
  • NEWSCOMAU describes the victim as a pastor at Chong’s church in Malaysia, while ABC does not mention her role as a pastor beyond a ‘mother-son’ relationship.
  • ABC includes the victim’s injuries being documented by ‘local medical clinics and a hospital,’ while NEWSCOMAU only mentions St Vincent’s Hospital.

Source Articles

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....

Yesterday
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....

Yesterday