A Melbourne couple, originally from India, has been hit with an additional penalty for their eight-year-long slavery of an elderly Tamil woman. The Australian Federal Police announced the new penalty, which includes a substantial financial sum and the forfeiture of proceeds from the sale of their home, on Friday. This comes on top of the sentences they received in 2021 for their heinous crime.
Kandasamy Kannan, aged 61, and his wife, Kumuthini, 58, must now collectively pay $140,000 to the state. Kumuthini has been ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty of $100,000, while Kandasamy faces a penalty of $40,000, plus the forfeited equity and interest from the 2016 sale, totaling over $475,000. These penalties are in addition to the sentences they are currently serving.
The victim, a widow from India, was brought to Australia on a tourist visa in 2007. However, she was forced into servitude by the Kannans, working 23 hours a day as a maid. Her family reported her missing in 2007, and she was later found in a hospital in 2015, weighing only 40 kg and suffering from hypothermia due to exposure to a pool of urine. She revealed that she was subjected to extreme physical abuse, including being beaten with a frozen chicken and burned with boiling water.
The victim's son-in-law attempted to negotiate her release, but Kumuthini responded with a dismissive 'F**k you'. The couple were found guilty of two counts of slavery and received sentences of eight years and six years, respectively, with parole eligibility after four and three years. This case highlights the dark reality of modern slavery and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable for their heinous crimes.
