Melbourne couple allegedly beat and starved woman enslaved in their home, court hears

An Indonesian woman was beaten, deprived of food, and forced to sleep on the stairs or garage during a months-long ordeal where she allegedly worked as a "slave" for a Melbourne couple, the Victorian County Court has heard.

The criminal trial for married couple Chee Kit Chong and Angie Yeh Liaw, both Malaysian nationals, began on Tuesday with the prosecution outlining its case.

The Indonesian worker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, agreed to live with the couple at their Point Cook property as Ms Liaw was giving birth to her second child.

The alleged victim was meant to stay for a month in early 2022, the court heard, but Mr Chong blamed the alleged victim for the loss of a company credit card and told her she must work off the debt.

Afterwards, Mr Chong "heavily controlled" the alleged victim's life, prosecutor Shaun Ginsbourg S.C. told the court.

"Mr Chong threatened and coerced [the alleged victim] to provide domestic services," he said.

"He repeatedly told her she had to work to repay supposed debts. And when [the victim] failed to meet Mr Chong's expectations … they would punish her by assaulting her, also by depriving her of sleep and food."

Mr Chong is accused of knowingly using the woman as a slave, while his wife is charged with assisting or encouraging the offence.

Defence lawyers told the court various allegations are in dispute, including claims of abuse, sleep or food deprivation, as well as the credit card story.

"There may be reasons [the complainant] may exaggerate or embellish or say things that are untruthful," Mr Chong's defence lawyer Diana Price said.

The pair have pleaded not guilty.

Unlawful immigration status made alleged victim vulnerable

Mr Chong had previously established a "mother-son" like relationship with the Indonesian woman, after the pair met at a church in Malaysia, where the alleged victim was a pastor, the court heard.

She moved to Australia on a tourist visa to live with the couple in 2017, but the pair returned to Malaysia without telling her, throwing her into homelessness for four years.

In 2021, the pair told the Indonesian woman they were back in Melbourne and offered her to work for them for a month.

Her unlawful immigration status made her vulnerable to exploitation, the prosecutors said, and Mr Chong behaved as "if he owned" the victim.

"On one occasion, he told her if she paid a million dollars she could leave," Mr Ginsburg said.

The woman was ordered to clean the house, do the washing up, and massage Mr Chong's legs, the court heard.

Once when she fell asleep during the massage, he allegedly hit her with the vacuum cleaner.

Other punishments included being ordered to stand up all night so she couldn't sleep and being locked in the garage, prosecutors said.

"He would often hit or kick her. He would also punish her by telling her she could not sleep or eat that day," Mr Ginsburg said.

"Chong dictated [the alleged victim's] access to food and facilities."

Nurse reported alleged abuse to police

Local medical clinics and a hospital noted the woman's various injuries in the final few months she lived with the couple, the court heard.

The woman's time with the couple ended in October after a nurse reported the matter to federal police, prompting officers to investigate.

Mr Chong told police he had offered the woman a place to stay because she was homeless. He provided various explanations for her injuries, including diabetes, falling over, and an assault by homeless people, the court heard.

He denied ordering her to do tasks, saying it was her idea.

Ms Liaw told police the pair had met the woman on the streets of Melbourne and had taken pity on her because she was homeless. She denied restricting the woman's access to food.

The complainant died in 2024, but this is not related to the case.

The trial continues.