Melbourne doctor Seyyed Farshchi to stand trial over slave labour allegations
A man was allegedly forced to work 98-hour weeks at two Melbourne lolly stores without lunch breaks or pay, with the overworked man telling a court his doctor boss gave him painkillers so he could continue labouring.
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A Melbourne couple charged with slave labour offences has been committed to stand trial while their alleged victim says he now lives in fear of retribution for reporting them.
The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, says he was forced to work 98-hour weeks, without lunch breaks, and for no pay for months, before finally being paid just $10 an hour.
He said he was worked so hard his body started to ache at which point his boss, doctor Seyyed Abdolzadeh Farshchi, started giving him painkillers so he could keep working.
Dr Farshchi, 46, and his wife Naghmeh Mostafaei, 45, have been committed to stand trial following a 10-day preliminary hearing.
They appeared at the County Court this week where the matter was adjourned until next month.
They are each charged with causing another person to engage in forced labour and conducting business with forced labour at two Melbourne confectionary stores between 2015 and 2017.
County Court judge Liz Gaynor was told their trial, which is yet to have a date set, will require complex legal argument because the relatively new charges have rarely been prosecuted in Victoria.
The trial is expected to test as yet uncharted matters of law.
Both Dr Farshchi and his wife have vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
However, their alleged victim, told police he was used as a slave.
“I was like a slave to him … a slave on demand, I was always ready to work for him and he was really … using and abusing,” he told police.
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“He was saying that’s the way it works in Australia … it’s not like you can have breaks, this is the way we work here.”
The man told police he feared Dr Farshchi because he wielded significant influence in the community.
“It’s clear as day to me that maybe not now, maybe in a couple of years time, ah, he’s gonna destroy me eventually,” he said.
“I’m so under stress and scared of him. I’m so feared of him.”