A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to seven years in a Canadian jail for collaborating in a violent house invasion that left a British Columbia household tortured and robbed of $1.6 million in Bitcoin.
Tsz Wing Boaz Chan, 35, flew from Hong Kong to Vancouver in early 2024 to participate within the meticulously deliberate assault, which authorities say concerned excessive violence, sexual assault, and psychological torture over a 13.5-hour ordeal.
On the night of April 27, 2024, 4 males, two wearing Canada Submit uniforms, gained entry to the Port Moody house of the focused household. The attackers restrained the husband, spouse, and younger daughter, threatening their lives and forcing the daughter to simulate sexual assault whereas beneath duress, in accordance with CBC reporting.
The intruders additionally waterboarded the spouse in entrance of her husband and beat him bare, threatening additional violence if he didn’t present entry to his cryptocurrency accounts.
Court docket paperwork describe the attackers’ calls for escalating from 200 bitcoin — price roughly $26 million on the time — to 100 bitcoin, in the end withdrawing about $1.6 million.
They carried out the crime after weeks of surveillance and planning, together with planting cameras exterior the household’s house. The attackers communicated by way of a person utilizing a disguised voice over the cellphone, coordinating the assault and issuing threats.
The daughter escaped at round 8 a.m. the next morning and alerted authorities, ending the ordeal. Police later linked Chan to the crime by way of CCTV footage and DNA, though he had returned to Hong Kong previous to identification. He was arrested when he got here again to Canada months later.
The Bitcoin theft was ‘elaborately deliberate’
Decide Robin McQuillan referred to as the crime “elaborately deliberate” and famous the profound emotional and monetary penalties for the household. Sufferer affect statements highlighted the continued trauma: the daughter stated she now feels unsafe at house, whereas the daddy described shedding a long time of financial savings meant to assist his household and repay a number of mortgages.
The household continues to battle with the aftermath, together with the psychological affect of nude movies and threats of social media publicity.
Chan, an out-of-work sailor and former waiter, reportedly obtained about $50,000 for his function within the heist and has been ordered to repay the quantity. Throughout sentencing, the decide noticed that Chan was visibly distraught, noting his struggles with jail violence, again ache, and language boundaries.
Accounting for time already served, he faces 5 extra years in custody.
The assault is a part of a broader development referred to as “wrench assaults,” during which bitcoin and crypto holders and their households are focused globally for ransom as a result of irreversibility and excessive worth of digital property.