An Australian Tamil woman, Kumuthini Kannan, aged 55, has been handed an additional two-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice during an investigation into slavery.

Kumuthini Kannan and her husband, Kandasamy Kannan, residents of Mount Waverley, were previously convicted and imprisoned in 2021 following an Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation that revealed their involvement in keeping a victim as a slave for eight years.

During the enslavement, the couple compelled the victim from Tamil Nadu to endure deplorable living conditions while performing tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for their children until she ultimately collapsed.

Now believed to be in her sixties, the victim was admitted to the hospital in a severely malnourished state, with diabetes and gangrene affecting her hands and feet, as stated by the police.

On June 13, 2023, Kumuthini pleaded guilty to the offense of attempting to pervert the course of justice and was sentenced to an additional two years and six months’ imprisonment by the County Court of Victoria. The judge ordered that the sentence would commence 18 months before the completion of Kumuthini’s current sentence for the slavery offenses.

AFP Detective Superintendent Simone Butcher expressed serious concern regarding any attempts to tamper with the integrity of a trial. Butcher emphasized that nobody is exempt from the law and the public should have confidence that those who interfere with the judicial process face severe consequences.

The charges against the couple were initially filed by the police in June 2016 for slavery offenses. While awaiting trial in 2020, Kumuthini attempted to pervert the course of justice by threatening the victim and instructing her not to testify during the court proceedings.

Consequently, the AFP Human Trafficking Team charged Kumuthini separately with attempting to pervert the course of justice, as defined by section 43 of the Crimes Act 1914.

In 2021, Kumuthini was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years for the slavery offenses. Meanwhile, Kandasamy received a sentence of six years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years.

This case marks the first instance of its kind concerning domestic servitude in Australia. During the 2021 sentencing, Justice John Champion noted the absence of any remorse or sorrow displayed by the couple, describing it as a remarkable absence of humanity.

He further criticized their focus on themselves and highlighted their gross exploitation of a vulnerable person, emphasizing the need for shame and their apparent belief that they had done nothing wrong.

According to a report by The Guardian, the victim, a mother of four children, came to Australia on two occasions to live with the Kannans in 2002 and 2004. In 2007, she returned on a one-month tourist visa.

Despite repeatedly expressing her desire to reunite with her family, the woman was coerced into working up to 23 hours a day, attending to the couple’s children, and performing various household chores.

She endured mistreatment such as having tea and curries thrown at her and being assaulted with a frozen chicken, while receiving meager compensation of approximately AUS$3.36 per day. (Edited)