A couple accused of holding a woman captive as a slave for eight years continue to roam free despite being convicted of the callous crime.
Husband and wife Kandasamy and Kumuthini Kannan enjoyed a sunny afternoon in Melbourne just days after being found guilty of committing crimes against humanity.
The couple, from Burwood East, had avoided scrutiny for years thanks to a court-imposed gag order that hid their identities.
Kandasamy Kannan continues to roam the community free as a bird despite being found guilty of holding a woman as a slave for eight years
Kumuthini Kannan was painted as the evil enforcer in the household. Her slave said she had poured hot curries over her head when she was unhappy. She was pictured outside a local police station on Monday
Kandasamy and Kumuthini Kannan enjoyed an afternoon out together on Monday. They had used their kids to stay out of jail while awaiting sentence
The couple had wanted to protect their young children from the shame of having slave drivers for parents.
On Monday, Kandasamy enjoyed a leisurely stroll around his neighbourhood with a friend who had come to visit the soon-to-be jailbird.
Police officers arrived at the couple’s double-storey home mid-afternoon in what appeared to be a routine check to see if they were abiding by their bail conditions.
One of the officers appeared to have a A4 colour mugshot of Kumuthini in her possession.
The officers were forced to bang on the front windows of the home after the Kannans refused to answer their front door.
They eventually revealed themselves to police and the officers moved on.
The couple re-emerged hours later where they went on a short road trip to the local police station.
There they reported a Daily Mail Australia photographer for taking their pictures on public land.
The couple returned to their home just before 5pm, but refused to talk to Daily Mail Australia about whether they felt any sympathy towards their victim.
Kandasamy made a quick retreat to his backyard, leaving his dominating wife Kumuthini behind.
But the slaver did not wish to talk and bolted into her backyard where the couple could be heard shouting.
Kandasamy Kannan (right) enjoyed a walk in the sunshine with a friend on Monday. He had avoided going directly to jail by not organising carers for his soon-to-be orphaned children
Police arrived at the Kannan property armed with a mugshot of the cruel slaver
Police arrived at the Kannan home on Monday afternoon. They were forced to yell at them to open the door after the Kannans initially refused to open the door
During their Supreme Court of Victoria trial, Kumunthini had been painted as the evil slave keeper, who dominated over her pathetic husband and their slave.
The arrogant slaver had smiled broadly just minutes before learning her fate on Friday, still supremely confident that the jury had swallowed her lies.
The jury of 12 delivered its verdict after deliberating for just over a day.
Kumunthini had beaten her slave with a frozen chicken, tossed boiling water on her legs, splashed hot tea in her face and poured curries over her head.
The Kannans now face 25 years in jail for the shocking crime.
Kumunthini burst into tears upon hearing the guilty verdicts.
She held her head in her hands and slumped her head into her husband’s shoulders as he too was found guilty.
Kumunthini had been a beacon of arrogance throughout the epic trial, often smiling while her elderly victim gave harrowing evidence.
Despite the guilty verdict, the couple were granted bail until their sentence date at the end of June.
Kumunthini had dominated over her ‘pathetic’ husband Kandasamy (pictured), who enjoyed a walk in the fresh air on Monday
Kumunthini had tortured her elderly slave for years. On Monday, she declined to explain her barbaric behaviour
The court heard the Kannans had been so confident they would walk free, they had not even discussed how their children might be cared for should they be immediately taken into custody.
So bold, they had not even told the children they had been attending court for the past three months.
The couple brought in forensic psychologist Dr Jeffrey Cummins in support of their bail application, who told Justice John Champion the Kannan children needed their parents despite one being aged 18 and the twins aged 16.
Dr Cummins said the children each had autism, with one of the twins being low functioning.
‘Their activities are rather limited,’ he said.
Dr Cummins told the court there would be ‘chaos’ if their parents did not return home from court tonight.
‘I’m not exaggerating. There would be simply chaos at home,’ he said.
In granting bail, Justice Champion said the Kannan’s deserved a ‘severe tongue lashing’ for failing to prepare for the prospect of being found guilty, describing their behaviour as ‘reprehensible’.
Crown prosecutor Richard Maidment QC said it was ‘incredible’ the Kannans had not contacted authorities in preparation of their potential jailing.
‘Why that hasn’t been done by somebody, I feel that difficult to put together,’ he said.
Justice Champion said the couple had been in denial of reality that this day would come.
‘It does Mr and Mrs Kannan no credit … they have placed a gun at the court’s head and they ought be condemned for that,’ he said.
The jury had endured months of evidence, which included shocking allegations of abuse by the couple against their elderly ‘slave’.
The couple had been accused of committing ‘crimes against humanity’ by keeping the woman captive and working her near to death.
Kumuthini Kannan and her husband Kandasamy will leave their children orphans after being found guilty of slavery
Police believed Kumuthini Kannan (pictured) had held her captive like ‘Harry Potter’
Kumuthini Kannan was found guilty of being a slave driver. She would slash her servant with a knife if she was not satisfied with her work, a jury heard
The jury heard their slave had ‘hot curries’ poured over her head as punishment and lived off just an hour a sleep for years at a time.
The elderly woman was found by paramedics in 2015 in a pool of her own urine and weighing just 40kg.
The Kannans had pleaded not guilty to intentionally keeping the woman as a slave between July 2007 and July 2015.
The woman was discovered after she collapsed inside the couple’s home and they called her an ambulance.
The Kannans are expected to be locked-up when they return to court for their plea hearing at the end of June.
