A Melbourne woman who secretly enslaved an Indian grandmother for eight years had dedicated a significant portion of her life to charity and had a passion for helping others, according to her lawyers.
Kumuthini Kannan, 53. and her husband, Kandasamy Kannan, 57, appeared in the Supreme Court for a pre-sentence hearing after a jury found them both guilty of two charges – intentionally possessing a slave and exercising power over a slave.
The enslaved woman, who cannot be named, claimed she was forced to cook, clean, and care for the couple's children over an eight-year period before she collapsed and was taken to hospital, weighing just 40 kilograms.
Prosecutor Richard Maidment QC told the Supreme Court that while the couple did not "shackle" the woman, they still deprived her of freedom between 2007 and 2015.
"She was essentially a prisoner," Mr Maidment said.
The victim, who is from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, originally came to Australia to work for the couple on two occasions and was able to return to India both times.
But, Mr Maidment said that on the third occasion the couple knew they would not be able to get permission for the woman to return to Australia because the Immigration Department already knew she was breaching the conditions of her visa by working.
"It must've been obvious to the Kannans that this was their last roll of the dice," Mr Maidment said.
"They never intended that she would be going back."
Defence says victim's evidence was 'flawed'
Gideon Boas, a defence barrister for Kumuthini Kannan, told the court that the crime of slavery was broad.
"There are many domestic relationships in this state that would fall into the category of slavery if the elements were strictly applied to them," Dr Boas said.
He urged the court to be wary of the enslaved woman's evidence, which he called "problematic".
"The evidence that she gave about them is manifestly flawed," Dr Boas said.
"She stated that she was working 23 hours a day. Upon questioning, in a variety of contexts … [she] maintained that position despite the obvious impossibility of that being the case."
Victim was 'part of the family'
He told the court that it could also not be conclusively proven that his client had mistreated the enslaved woman.
"The tea, boiling water, pushing down the stairs, stabbing or cutting, hitting her over the head with frozen chicken, all of the allegations of mistreatment by Mrs Kannan … are matters that, in our submission, your honour, cannot find beyond reasonable doubt to have occurred," he said.
Instead, Dr Boas told the court that the enslaved woman was considered "part of the family" while she was in Australia.
"She was ammachi," he said, referring to the south Indian word for grandmother.
"Loved by the children, part of the family, participating in family life, going on holiday to Phillip Island," Dr Boas said.
He accepted that the enslaved woman was in a "bad state" when she was discovered by authorities, but urged Justice John Champion to "look at the facts".
"The facts are she had …" Dr Boas began.
"She was fading away," Justice Champion finished.
"She was emaciated," Dr Boas agreed.
He pointed to a dozen character references supplied on behalf of Kumuthini Kannan, who he said had dedicated her life to charity.
"She's described as a person who is caring, giving, religious, charitable, valued member of the Tamil community here and in southern India," he said.
The hearing continues.
