A Thai sex worker who was spat on, bruised and left bleeding by clients was under the "control" of a Sydney woman accused of keeping her as a slave, a jury has heard. The woman was one of two Thai women who voluntarily came to Sydney to do sex work and lived with Rungnapha "Lisa" Kanbut at her Sydney home at separate times in and Kanbut, 57, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of intentionally possessing a slave, two counts of exercising powers of ownership over a slave and two counts of dealing with the proceeds of crime.
In his closing submissions on Thursday, crown prosecutor Peter Neil SC said the first sex worker - who couldn't speak English, wasn't familiar with Sydney and had little money of her own - was told by Kanbut she had nowhere else to go. Mr Neil said the woman was also told a man in Thailand had naked photos of her which, if released, would have brought great shame upon her. The second sex worker came to Sydney in and previously gave evidence that she was also taken to Kanbut's home, told she owed a debt and driven to and from work at various brothels in the city until it was paid off.
The prosecution on Thursday drew a firm distinction between the consent the women had given to come to Sydney for sex work and the reality of the situation they found themselves in. They did not know what they were getting themselves into. Home News National. Mr Neil said these circumstances showed Kanbut "exercised complete control" over the women. Australian Associated Press.
