A Melbourne man who allegedly kept his Indian wife as a slave after she arrived in Australia in 2015, threatened to “kill” her, the court heard.
The ABC reported that the woman’s sister told the court on Tuesday she was very scared of her husband.
"He told her one of his friends had killed his wife and threw her body in the bushes so no-one could find her," she told the hearing.
"He said, we can kill you as well."
She told the court her sister who is a vegetarian said her husband and brother-in-law ate out at restaurants but did not provide vegetables for her.
The court heard the man repeatedly asked the woman’s family in India to send money.
“In one message, he also said 'If you want food, ask your mum to send money'," another sister of the alleged victim told the hearing.
The woman tried to contact her family when she found an unlocked laptop in the house but was caught by her brother-in-law. After about six weeks of living with her husband, she finally managed to seek help from her neighbours who raised an alarm, according to the documents submitted to the court.
The man who cannot be named due to legal reasons has been charged with a Commonwealth offence of intentionally reducing a person to a slave. He pleaded not guilty and has been committed to stand trial.
