Australia's tenant from hell is JAILED after stalking and terrorising landlord who evicted her: How the nightmare began
A deranged woman who embarked on a reign of terror against her former landlord and his family wailed in court as her fate was sealed. Tsai-Wei Hung, 33, an egg-packer, was on Wednesday sentenced in the County Court of Victoria to six years and two months in jail, with a non-parole period of four years over her frightful campaign of terror. The entitled Taiwanese backpacker poured petrol over cars, hurled accelerant at front doors while families slept inside, then demanded $30,000 to stop her outrageous attacks.She pleaded guilty in December to a swag of charges, including four counts of arson, reckless conduct endangering life, burglary, theft, dangerous driving and extortion.Hung halted proceedings midway through her sentence before Judge Carolene Gwynn to have an unhinged sook about her lot in life. She cried and moaned and ranted in her native tongue while the packed courtroom looked on in disgust. Hung had already spent 600 days behind bars awaiting sentence after repeated delays. In sentencing, Judge Gwynn condemned Hung for her wretched behaviour, telling her it was sheer luck someone was not killed during her rampage. Tsai-Wei Hung, 33, went on a rampage when she was told to leave a share house
'I accept the Crown submission that you pursued a terrifying vendetta affecting numerous victims in a premeditated course of conduct involving arson, dangerous driving, criminal damage, extortion, and of course, the charges relating to your reckless conduct,' she said. The nightmare began on March 10 in 2024 when landlord Lin Zhang arrived at his Viewbright Road property in Clyde North, in Melbourne's south-east, to evict Hung after months of raging arguments and bizarre behaviour.What followed was a chilling escalation that left her former flatmates and landlord fearing they would be burned alive.The court heard Hung began her rampage by childishly pelting the homeowner's garage door with eggs.Things quickly spiralled though with Hung turning her aggression on the home occupants, driving her car at Mr Zhang when he came out to confront her.Hung then repeatedly drove her car into the garage door, destroying it and three cars inside.She returned again the next day when she again damaged the cars being stored within the garage. Twisted firestarter: Hung is seen outside a home in Berwick, which she attempted to set alight after tracking down her former landlordCaught and interviewed by police, Hung told detectives she 'just wanted to scare them.'She was released on bail, but failed to turn up at court on May 1 that year.The court heard Hung returned to torment her former landlord again in June, throwing plastic bottles of petrol over the front door of his house and lighting it while three people slept inside.'She's back, she's back,' the terrified occupants shrieked.Judge Gwynn told Hung she agreed with the prosecution's submissions that she had acted with malice.'You have had an extraordinary volatile, and frankly dangerous series of responses to a circumstance which originated from you being required to leave the Viewbright Road premises,' she said. 'Your offending at Viewbright Road ... was clearly planned, targeted and occurred in the early hours of the morning.'Hung also destroyed two cars at the back of the home, with CCTV showing her pour fuel on them and setting them ablaze with matches.The next day Hung sent a message to one of Mr Zhang's associates demanding her former landlord pay $30,000 or she would strike again. Hung set fire to her housemates' cars after setting the front door alight'You tell Lin give me $30,000 before 8pm tonight, and everything that happened between us will be gone,' she wrote.'If I do not get the money today, I cannot ensure I wouldn’t do something again. Please tell him that he and his family have to be careful or they will have the same experience as me, or even lose more than that.'The terrified family took the warning seriously and fled to a home in Berwick.But their peace was short-lived, with Hung tracking them down and again dousing the front door of their new home in petrol.CCTV footage captured the wild moment she repeatedly tossed matches at the fuel until it exploded into flames.'Go to hell,' she shouted in Mandarin before fleeing. 'The premises contained at least seven people, including Mr Zhang's children and her elderly mother,' the judge said. 'You did so on some understanding that persons were present inside the home and therefore at risk, you had no regard for whom you were placing in harm's way ... your offending was both planned and targeted.' A car goes up in flames after Hung set fire to itHung stole a car from a rental company the same day and later obtained $8,900 from a person who innocently bought it off her.She was arrested that night and has been in jail since.The court heard Hung's offending had made news in her homeland, with her family in Taiwan quickly learning of her outrageous behaviour.The backpacker’s vengeful crime spree had gone viral, with YouTube videos about the case racking up millions of views.
