By Sarah McPhee
Two Sydney jurors were discharged from a woman’s sex slavery trial after one allegedly brought a knife to court and the other “persistently” tried to talk to the judge’s associate after a chance meeting on a Saturday night out.
The incidents were revealed in a judgment published on Tuesday after Rungnapha Kanbut was last week found guilty of six charges including possessing a slave and exercising powers of ownership over a slave.
The knife seized from the juror at Downing Centre District Court.
It was a retrial for Kanbut who was alleged to have told two Thai women when they arrived to live with her in Australia in 2004 and 2005 that they had a hefty debt to pay off and would do so through sex work.
On March 19, one week after Kanbut’s trial began in Downing Centre District Court, security screening allegedly detected a male juror entering the complex with a knife which he claimed “was to cut up fruit”.
“The blade folded into the handle where it could be locked into position, and then it would be worn attached to a belt,” Acting Judge James Bennett said in his judgment.
Police were called, and prosecutors sought for the juror to be removed.
Rungnapha Kanbut was found guilty of six offences including slavery.Credit: AAPIMAGE
“I ordered that the juror be discharged for the misconduct which might be inferred from his custody of the knife in the circumstances,” the judge said.
Bennett said that although it was “unknown” what action police might take, three potential offences arose including possession of a knife in a public place and possession of a restricted item while in court premises.
The judge said whether or not the juror’s fruit explanation “might have merit”, the impact of any police investigation would have been a significant distraction and would “substantially affect” their ability to determine Kanbut’s guilt.
NSW Police said officers were called to the courthouse at 10.50am following reports a man had been detained after a knife was detected in his backpack.
“After making inquiries, the man was released and no further action was taken by police,” a police spokesman said.
On March 24, the judge’s associate advised she had been approached by a male juror while out socialising on the Saturday night, March 22, and reported he had “addressed her and sought to engage her in conversation with some persistence”.
Bennett said the juror’s conduct was in “clear breach” of his instructions that jurors have no contact with the parties involved in the case, and demonstrated a “fundamental” misunderstanding of their function.
The judge said the interaction did not include remarks about the trial, as the opportunity for that was “curtailed” by the associate’s clear response “that they would not speak” and her swift departure from the venue.
He said regardless of the juror’s intention, “that he persisted with his attempts to speak with the associate … put beyond question that he ought not be permitted to continue in this role”.
The remaining 10 jurors delivered their guilty verdicts on April 1.
Kanbut, who served more than three years of a jail sentence before her convictions were quashed on appeal and her retrial was ordered, is on bail ahead of sentencing in June.
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