‘He was threatening to hit the mother’: Relative of Aboriginal kids allegedly zip-tied by tradie says she feared for their lives

Three Aboriginal children were zip-tied and allegedly held against their will for almost an hour by a tradie.

A relative of three Aboriginal children who were zip-tied and allegedly held against their will by a tradie, says she feared for their lives as they sat restrained for an hour before the police arrived.

On Tuesday, a chilling video was shared on Facebook which showed a large man standing in front of the two children who were standing behind him against a shed door with their wrists tied together.

The incident occurred at Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia, and has sparked furore in the community.

A third child was also zip-tied, but managed to escape as Leandra McKenzie and her daughter tried to walk into the property to help them.

Ms McKenzie told The Advertiser that she and her daughter tried everything to get the children back.

“He was threatening to hit the mother of them two little kids,” she said.

A 45-year-old West Australian man has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault after a video emerged of three Aboriginal children tied up with cable ties in a front yard. Picture: Instagram

“We was all just shaking and terrified because seeing the little kids like that, they was crying and we didn’t know if they was hurt and we thought something worse could happen,” she said.

“He never even gave them water and it was bloody hot yesterday and they was sitting down there against the shed door.

“They was just sitting there crying and there was three of them tied up with cable ties, but the third little boy, he broke loose.”

In the video, the man can be heard saying that he was waiting for the police to arrive and was ignoring pleas by family and onlookers who kept asking him to let them go.

Local police were initially called to the property over reports that the children were trespassing, however, once they arrived, the man was charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

A 45-year-old West Australian man has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault after a video emerged of three Aboriginal children tied up with cable ties in a front yard. Picture: Instagram

Western Australia’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Jacqueline McGowan-Jones said she received multiple calls from community members about the incident.

“I was appalled when I saw the footage showing very small, young children who appear to be very frightened,” she said.

“Cable tying young children while waiting for police to arrive is excessive and a complete overreaction.

“I received calls and messages from friends and community members last night who were extremely concerned about the incident and outraged about the children being cable tied and left in the hot sun for up to an hour.”

Once they arrived, police called the ambulance and the children received medical care.

The accused tradie was taken into custody and released on bail and is expected to appear in court at a later date.

WA Police have urged the community to co-operate with the ongoing investigation until they establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.