Malaysian Man Jailed Over Enslavement and Abuse of Indonesian Woman in Melbourne

Chee Kit Chong was sentenced to six years in prison for enslaving and abusing an Indonesian woman in Melbourne. (Red/Ist)

PEWARTA.CO.ID — A Malaysian man has been sentenced to six years in prison after an Australian court found that he enslaved and abused an Indonesian woman at his home in Melbourne.

Chee Kit Chong, 47, was convicted of intentionally employing a person as a slave and assaulting the woman, who was in her 60s, during a period from February to October 2022.

The woman had been living with Chong and his family at their home in Point Cook, where she was forced to perform household duties under conditions the court determined amounted to slavery.

Court details years of abuse

County Court Judge Michael Cahill described Chong’s treatment of the woman as “heartless and brutal” during the sentencing hearing on September 4.

“You treated her like a slave,” Cahill told Chong, who attended the hearing by video link from Ravenhall Correctional Centre.

“That meant you exploited her as though she were your own property.”

The court heard that Chong failed to provide the woman with adequate food or medical treatment, restricted her movements and deprived her of sleep.

He also criticized her work through text messages and, according to the court, struck her over minor mistakes.

At one point, Chong allegedly slammed the woman’s head against a wall and kicked her in the face. A separate allegation that he struck her with a vacuum cleaner pipe was ultimately dropped.

The court also heard that Chong told the woman she could choose between sleeping on the stairs or in the garage.

Woman found malnourished after leaving home

The woman left Chong’s home in October 2022, and her whereabouts were unknown for several days before police found her and took her to a hospital by taxi.

She showed signs of malnutrition and had swollen ears and feet, injuries to the soles of her feet, and bruising near one eye.

The court heard that she sometimes obtained biscuits and other snacks from a local charity because they could be “easily hidden” from Chong.

Cahill also noted that Chong had told friends he paid the woman as much as AU$5,000 a month, although the court found that claim was untrue.

The judge described it as a “terrible” irony that Chong had reportedly told his wife the woman should not have been allowed to leave their home.

Victim had known family for years

The woman and Chong’s family had known each other since meeting in Malaysia in 2015, with the court hearing that they had developed a close relationship.

“Since knowing you, [the woman] was generous and loyal to you… she treated you like her own son,” Cahill said.

Before moving into the couple’s home, the woman had traveled to Australia and experienced homelessness while working on the streets.

She moved in with Chong and his family in early 2022 to help with household work following the birth of the couple’s second child.

The court also heard that Chong repeatedly pressured her to provide large sums of money. She eventually borrowed money from relatives in Indonesia and from a secondhand store where she worked after Chong struggled with rent and hospital expenses related to the birth.

The woman’s identity has not been disclosed because Australian law protects the identities of victims of slavery-related abuse.

She died in 2024 from natural causes.

AFP highlights modern slavery risks

Chong’s wife, Angie Liaw, had initially been charged with helping her husband treat the woman as a slave, but prosecutors withdrew the charges during a six-week trial earlier this year.

Liaw was not present when Chong was sentenced.

Modern slavery is a federal criminal offense in Australia, carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Chong will be eligible for parole in 2030 and is likely to be deported to Malaysia after completing his sentence.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP), which investigated the case, said the outcome demonstrated its commitment to pursuing those involved in human exploitation.

“Human trafficking and modern slavery crimes strip victims of their freedom, dignity and human rights. They lose their identity,” AFP Detective Inspector Ray Imbriano said.

“This case involved the exploitation of a vulnerable woman for personal gain,” he said.

“It is a reminder that these crimes can happen within our own communities, often behind closed doors.”