Mt Waverley slave case: Kumuthini Kannan faces new allegation
A Melbourne woman who kept an Indian grandmother as a slave for eight years in her suburban home is facing a fresh allegation.
A Melbourne woman jailed for enslaving a grandmother is facing fresh allegations she tried to threaten her victim before the trial.
Police will allege Kumuthini Kannan called the victim to try and get her to withdraw her statement in February 2020, ahead of her trial on slavery offences.
The 54-year-old woman was due to face a committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, intimidating a witness and committed an indictable offence while on bail.
She allegedly “intimidated” the woman she enslaved “on account of that person about to appear as a witness in a judicial proceeding”, charge sheets released by the court show.
But her lawyer David Carolan confirmed she was unable to face court due to a “medical issue” after speaking to prison staff at Dame Phyllis Frost.
“She was being assessed and then I received a subsequent call … indicating that the assessment was such that Ms Kannan was unfit to attend court,” Mr Carolan said.
The enslaved woman was due to give evidence at the hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for Kannan to face another trial.
Prosecutor Krista Breckweg said the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was driven home after it became clear she would not have to testify.
Kannan and her husband Kandasamy, 57, were found guilty in April of possessing and using the woman as a slave at their Mount Waverley home for eight years.
She was sentenced to eight years behind bars while her husband was jailed for six years.
The hearing was adjourned and Kannan will face court again later this month.