Seven years in prison for home invasion, sexual assault, and theft of $1.6 million

A Hong Kong man who participated in a violent home invasion in which a British Columbia family was tortured and robbed of $1.6 million in Bitcoin has been sentenced to seven years in a Canadian prison.

Tsi Wing Boaz Chan, 35, flew from Hong Kong to Vancouver in early 2024 to take part in a carefully planned attack. Authorities say the attack involved 13 and a half hours of extreme violence, sexual assault and psychological torture.

On the night of April 27, 2024, four men wearing Canada Post uniforms, two of whom were wearing Canada Post uniforms, entered the Port Moody home of a targeted family. CBC reported that the attackers restrained the husband, wife and young daughter, threatened their lives, and forced the daughter to imitate the sexual assault under duress.

The intruders also doused the wife with water in front of her husband, beat her naked and threatened her with further violence if she did not provide access to her cryptocurrency account.

Court documents say the attacker’s demands escalated from 200 Bitcoins (worth about $26 million at the time) to 100 Bitcoins, eventually withdrawing about $1.6 million.

They carried out the crime after weeks of surveillance and planning, including installing cameras outside the family’s home. The attackers used fake voices over the phone to coordinate the attack and make threats.

The ordeal ended when the girl ran away and called authorities around 8 a.m. the next morning. Police later investigated whether Chan was involved in the crime through security camera footage and DNA, although he had returned to Hong Kong before his identity was identified. He was arrested when he returned to Canada several months later.

Bitcoin theft was ‘meticulously planned’

Judge Robin McQuillan said the crime was “meticulously planned” and had had a serious emotional and financial impact on the family. Victim impact statements highlight the ongoing trauma. The daughter said she now feels unsafe at home, and the father said he has lost decades of savings to support his family and pay off multiple mortgages.

The family continues to struggle with the aftermath, including the psychological impact of the nude video and the threat of exposure on social media.

Mr Chan, an unemployed sailor and former waiter, reportedly received about $50,000 for his role in the robbery and has been ordered to pay it back. During sentencing, the judge observed that Chan was visibly distraught, citing his struggles with violence, back pain and the language barrier in prison.

Taking into account the time already served, he will be kept in custody for a further five years.

The attack is part of a broader trend known as “wrench attacks,” in which Bitcoin and cryptocurrency holders and their families are targeted for ransoms around the world due to the irreversibility and high value of digital assets.

This post, “Bitcoin Crime: 7 Years in Prison Result of Home Burglary, Sexual Assault, and $1.6 Million Theft” was first published in Bitcoin Magazine and written by Micah Zimmerman.