A Malaysian couple living in Australia is currently undergoing trial for allegedly keeping an Indonesian woman as their slave. Authorities also accuse the husband of physically assaulting the woman as well as refusing to feed her.
According to the Malay Mail, the Indonesian died in 2024 from unrelated causes.
The criminal trial for Chee Kit Chong and Angie Yeh Liaw began on Tuesday (31 March). Prosecutors allege that the couple had coerced the Indonesian into “working off her debt” after they blamed her for the loss of a credit card.
Chong would also abuse the woman whenever she failed to meet his expectations. He allegedly hit her with a vacuum, locked her up in a garage, and more.
Source: Aflo Images on Canva. For illustration purposes only.
He would even restrict what food she could eat, with prosecutors saying that Chong would only allow the woman to eat Weet-Bix, a breakfast cereal.
Furthermore, Chong never allowed the woman to leave the home unless he supervised her.
The matter came to police attention after local medical professionals took note of the woman’s injuries. Police began investigating the case after a nurse reported possible abuse.
When police came knocking, Chong said he had taken in the homeless woman and denied all allegations of abuse. Instead, he blamed the various injuries on diabetes, clumsiness, and even said homeless people assaulted the woman.
He even claimed that doing chores around the house was the woman’s idea.
Source: Chong Chee Kit on Facebook via ABC News
Chong’s wife echoed his claims, saying that the couple had met the woman on the streets of Melbourne and felt pity, so they took her in.
Prosecutors claim that Chong had met the woman in Malaysia in church. In 2017, the woman went to Australia on a tourist visa to live with the couple, but became stranded and homeless when the couple left without informing her.
She was homeless for four years before the couple returned to Australia and allegedly exploited her illegal status to coerce her into slavery.
She died in 2024.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Chong Chee Kit on Facebook via ABC News.