Melbourne Man Jailed 6 Years for Keeping Woman as Slave in Point Cook Home

Melbourne — A 47-year-old  Melbourne man has been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for enslavimg a vulnerable Indonesian woman whom he treated as his personal property, denying her food, sleep, medical care and freedom while forcing her to perform unpaid domestic labour in his suburban home.

Chee Kit “Max” Chong, a Malaysian national, was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court after a jury earlier this year found him guilty of intentionally possessing a slave, contrary to Commonwealth law, and one count of common assault under Victorian law.

He will serve a non-parole period of four years and is expected to be deported to Malaysia upon completion of his sentence.

County Court Judge, Michael Cahill, described Chong’s moral culpability as high.

“Your treatment of her was callous and cruel,” the judge told Chong, who appeared via video link from Ravenhall Correctional Centre, and showed no reaction.

“You exploited her vulnerabilities to use her as your property.

"You treated her as a slave. That is, you used her like property you owned," Judge Cahill said.

The victim, an Indonesian woman in her 60s, whose identity has been protected under Australian law protecting victims of slavery offences, had regarded Chong like a son.

The pair first met at a church in Malaysia in 2015 and developed a close bond.

Reports say she provided him with thousands of dollars when he was struggling financially.

She later followed him to Australia, where she experienced periods of homelessness and worked as a street vendor before moving into Chong's Point Cook home, and his wife in early 2022 to help after the birth of the couple’s second child.

Reports say what began as an arrangement rooted in loyalty quickly descended into exploitation that lasted from around January or February until October 2022.

Chong controlled the woman’s access to the outside world, restricted her movements and required her to clean the house, care for his children and perform personal services such as massaging his feet, all without pay.

He threatened and coerced her under the dual threats of physical assault or hunger.

When her work fell short of his standards, he admonished her via text messages and assaulted.

On occasions he smashed her head through a wall and kicked her in the face. He denied her proper medical assistance for her injuries.

The court heard the woman was forced to sleep on the stairs or in the garage.

She resorted to requesting crackers and other small food items from a local charity because they were “easy to hide” from Chong.

Meanwhile, Chong falsely told friends he was paying her up to $5,000 a month.

He also repeatedly pressured her for large sums of money, which she obtained by borrowing from relatives in Indonesia and from an opportunity shop where she worked, to help cover his rent and hospital bills.

The ordeal ended when the woman escaped the Point Cook residence in October 2022.

After several days unaccounted for, police located her and arranged her transport by taxi to a hospital emergency department in East Melbourne on 11 October 2022.

She presented with significant injuries to her body, including a swollen ear and leg, a cut on her foot and bruising near her eye, along with a startled demeanour and signs of malnourishment.

Medical staff, recognising indicators of possible human trafficking, promptly alerted authorities.

The Australian Federal Police launched an investigation. Investigators conducted extensive inquiries into the victim’s living circumstances and executed a search warrant at a Point Cook address on 27 October 2022.

Chong was later arrested at his workplace and charged with human trafficking and related offences.

Austrailian Federal Police FP investigators alleged the victim had been living with the man and his family at two Point Cook addresses and was subjected to exploitation, including restrictions on her freedom of movement and deprivation of food and sleep, while being required to perform domestic duties.

Chong’s wife, Angie Yeh Liaw (also referred to as Angie Liaw), 32, was initially charged with assisting or encouraging the offending.

She faced trial alongside her husband but was acquitted after Judge Cahill directed that she be found not guilty as a matter of law before the jury deliberated. She did not attend the sentencing hearing.

Tragically, the victim died of natural causes in 2024 at the age of about 63 and did not live to see the trial verdict or Chong’s sentencing. The jury returned its guilty verdicts against Chong in May 2026 following a multi-week trial.

AFP Detective Superintendent Ray Imbriano welcomed the outcome, emphasising the force’s commitment to protecting vulnerable people.

“Human trafficking and modern slavery offences strip victims of their freedom, dignity and basic human rights.

"They lose their sense of identity,” Det-Supt Imbriano said.

“This offending involved the exploitation of a vulnerable woman for personal gain.

"It serves as a reminder that these crimes can occur within our own communities, often behind closed doors.

The AFP is focused on protecting vulnerable people, in Australia, from exploitation, with specialist human trafficking investigators," he said.

Slavery remains a serious federal offence in Australia, carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.