A general view of Police tape in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 9, 2018. Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
A callous man will spend six years behind bars for exploiting a vulnerable woman and keeping her as a slave for nine months.
The woman had considered Chee Kit “Max” Chong, 47, like a son, and the 61-year-old followed him to Australia from Malaysia.
But he took advantage of her kindness and used her as a slave in his Melbourne home between January and October 2022.
“Your treatment of her was callous and cruel,” Victorian County Court Judge Peter Cahill said in sentencing on Sept. 4.
The woman, who cannot legally be identified, first met Chong at a Malaysian church in 2015 and they quickly became close.
She provided him with thousands of dollars when he was struggling, and she followed him to Australia in 2017.
But she was left alone and homeless when Chong and his wife Angie Liaw travelled to Malaysia and then moved to Tasmania without telling her.
Chong contacted the woman again in late 2021, saying his family had moved back to Melbourne.
It was during the nine months she lived at Chong’s home in 2022 that Chong assaulted the woman and treated her like a slave.
He made her clean for the family, massage his feet and stay up all night to act as his 5:30 a.m. alarm clock.
When she failed to follow his orders, he assaulted her and deprived her of food and sleep.
The woman disclosed the abuse to a cafe owner on Sept. 16 after they saw her with horrific bruising to her face.
She fled Chong’s home on Oct. 7 under the guise of visiting a friend to collect money, and police found her four days later with a swollen ear and injured eye.
Chong repeatedly denied the offending and took the case to trial but a jury in May found him guilty of intentionally possessing a slave and one count of assault.
The woman did not live to see the County Court trial or verdict, having died from natural causes in 2024.
Judge Cahill said the woman had been generous and loyal, treating Chong as her own son.
“You exploited her vulnerabilities to use her as your property,” the judge said.
The judge accepted Chong would likely be deported back to Malaysia and his time in custody would be difficult for his wife and young children.
But the court needed to denounce the cruel conduct and deter others from similar offending, Judge Cahill said.
Chong did not react as he was jailed for six years with a non-parole period of four years.
His wife Angie also faced trial, accused of assisting Chong, but Judge Cahill acquitted her before the jury deliberations.
The Australian Federal Police welcomed the sentence and promised to continue its focus on protecting vulnerable people.
“[This case] serves as a reminder that these crimes can occur within our own communities, often behind closed doors,” Detective Superintendent Ray Imbriano said in a statement.
By Tara Cosoleto in Melbourne
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