The supposed hellish life of a modern slave in a luxurious Melbourne house

Inside a suburban house, not far from a busy shopping center in the leafy suburb of Mount Waverley in south-east Melbourne, a modern slave was allegedly lying incoherent and unable to move.

It was 2015, and behind closed doors in the perfect suburb, often referred to as one of Melbourne’s “new first-class areas,” the woman was found emaciated and lying in her own urine on the bathroom floor, the Supreme Court heard. of Victoria. this week.

In her 50s, the Indian-born woman weighed just 40kg when authorities found her and took her to hospital.

The family that had allegedly enslaved her was highly respected in their own ethnic community, the father a private former student with a college education.

They were active members of the community in the suburbs clustered around Mount Waverley.

The court heard that when requests were made for the woman’s return to her own family in Tamil Naidu, South India, the respected wife allegedly responded on at least one occasion in an email with “f *** ed “.

The court heard that, in 2015, the woman was admitted to intensive care at Box Hill Hospital after collapsing.

She had diabetes, suffered from sepsis and with a temperature of only 28.5 ° C (normal is around 37 ° C) she was also hypothermic, the court heard.

“She was found in her own urine, in a puddle on the bathroom floor and shaking,” prosecutor Richard Maidment, QC, told the court.

The woman told authorities that she had survived mainly on tea and occasionally bowls of rice.

Six years later, the husband and wife accused of being her captors pleaded not guilty at trial.

The defendants, who can only be referred to by the initials KK and KK and are now over 50 years old, have been charged under Commonwealth law with one count of possession and use of a slave.

The Supreme Court heard that the couple had met the woman, who cannot be identified, on a visit to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Before being allegedly enslaved, the woman visited Australia twice to work for the couple and was able to return home to India.

The court heard that the woman visited Australia twice before returning for a third visit in 2007, when relations deteriorated and thereafter she was allegedly held against her will and not paid.

Prosecutors allege that he was unable to leave for eight years and received only “the $ 5 or $ 10 bill here and there that they would have given him on his birthday.”

“The origins of the whole arrangement were that [the victim] it would be paid, “Maidment told the court.

“He worked very hard. During the eight years … he will tell you that all he received as a form of payment in Australia” were the occasional $ 5 and $ 10 bills.

The court heard that the woman took care of the couple’s three children, cooked and folded clothes.

The court heard that as time passed, his contact with his own family in India became more intermittent.

When the woman collapsed, Ms. KK called an ambulance.

Police interviewed the woman at the hospital and allegedly told them that she was not allowed to speak to investigators without the presence of her alleged captor.

“She feared that [the accused] he would not return her to India and he would not pay her the money owed to her for the work she had done, “Maidment told the court.

When the family went on vacation for month-long trips, the woman was locked in the house with some of the doors sealed, she said.

Initially, the woman did not tell police how long she had been in the country or the “mistreatment” she suffered because she feared she would not be able to return to India, the court heard.

Prosecutors allege that the couple had such a level of control over women’s rights and freedoms that it was slavery.

The court heard that they allegedly controlled his right to communicate with others, freedom of movement, and his rights to health care and pay for work.