An Indian woman was allegedly kept as a slave, mistreated by Melbourne couple and was locked up in the house when the family went on annual holidays.
On Monday, the court heard she was found by paramedics emaciated and suffering severe hypothermia as she lay in a pool of urine when the paramedics were called in, reports.
Kandasamy Kannan and his wife Kumuthini Kannan are facing a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court to determine if the Kannans will stand trial.
They have been accused of keeping the woman as a slave at their Mount Waverley home for more than eight years, reports.
The couple have been charged with possessing a slave, exercising powers over a slave and harbouring an unlawful non-citizen.
Commonwealth prosecutor Fiona McLeod SC told the hearing the woman travelled to Australia from India on a tourist visa in 2007 to perform domestic duties for the couple and help look after their three children.
But she told the police she was not allowed to leave the house and was locked up when the family went on annual month-long holidays, the court heard.
The court heard she also told police she was often too tired to eat substantial meals and was surviving on cups of tea and rice. She was also physically assaulted by Ms Kannan, it is alleged.
Ms McLeod told the hearing Ms Kannan called paramedics to the couple's home in 2015 when the woman collapsed on the bathroom floor and was unable to get up. She was found emaciated and lying in a pool of urine with extreme hypothermia and severe urinary sepsis.
The couple has rejected the allegations and denied the woman was treated as a slave.
Ms Kannan's barrister Dr Gideon Boas told the hearing the woman received clothing, board and food and was cared for by the couple.
"The complainant voluntarily came to Australia … she became part of the family … she became like the children's grandmother," he said.
"She received things and money and wanted for nothing."
reports the couple requested to not have their names disclosed, arguing their three children would be bullied. However this request was not granted.
The committal hearing continues.
