Home Invasion And $1.6M Bitcoin Theft Nets 7-Year Sentence

A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to seven years in jail in Canada for collaborating in a violent house invasion that tortured and robbed a British Columbia household of $1.6 million price of Bitcoin.

Tsz Wing Boaz Chan, 35, flew from Hong Kong to Vancouver in early 2024 to participate within the fastidiously deliberate assault, which authorities so to speak, involved excessive violence, sexual assault and psychological torture throughout 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 person, lady and younger daughter, threatened their lives and compelled the daughter to simulate sexual violence whereas beneath duress, based on CBC. reporting.

The intruders additionally waterboarded the lady 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 about $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 inserting cameras outdoors the household’s house. The attackers communicated through a person over the telephone with a disguised voice, who coordinated the assault and made threats.

The daughter escaped round 8 a.m. the following morning and alerted authorities, ending the ordeal. Police later linked Chan to the crime by means of CCTV footage and DNA, though he had returned to Hong Kong earlier than identification. He was arrested when he returned to Canada months later.

The Bitcoin Theft Was ‘Elaborately Deliberate’

Choose Robin McQuillan referred to as the crime “elaborately deliberate” and famous the profound emotional and monetary affect on the household. Sufferer affect statements highlighted the continued trauma: the daughter stated she now feels unsafe at house, whereas the daddy described shedding many years of financial savings meant to assist his household and repay a number of mortgages.

The household continues to struggle with its aftermath, together with the psychological affect of nude movies and the specter of social media publicity.

Chan, an unemployed sailor and former waiter, reportedly acquired about $50,000 for his position within the heist and has been ordered to repay the quantity. Throughout sentencing, the decide famous that Chan was visibly distraught, noting that he struggled with jail violence, again ache and language boundaries.

Taking into consideration the time already served, he faces a further 5 years in jail.

The assault is a part of a broader pattern known as ‘key assaults’, the place bitcoin and crypto holders and their households worldwide are focused for ransom because of the irreversibility and excessive worth of digital property.