Government slammed for silence on Bankstown murder – as cops probe rising wave of Asian organised crime

The state government has come under fire for failing to reassure the community in the wake of the gruesome murder of a woman at Bankstown, with locals “living in fear ... they could be the next victims”.

The state government has come under fire for failing to reassure the community in the wake of the horrific murder of a woman at Bankstown, the latest incident in an escalating wave of Asian organised crime in recent years.

Thi Kim Tran, 45, was kidnapped from her Sydney home, stripped naked in the driveway and then murdered, before her body was set alight inside a car a few suburbs away on Thursday night.

During the attack an eight-year-old boy at the home was hit in the head with a baseball bat – and remains in an induced coma in hospital.

NSW Police investigators assisted by detectives from several State Crime Command squads have over the Easter weekend remained at the crime scenes at the Bankstown home and in Beverly Hills where the car and Mrs Tran’s burnt body were found.

Thi Kim Tran, 45, was kidnapped from her Bankstown home, stripped naked in the driveway and then murdered last Thursday. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire

The burnt out car in which Ms Tran’s body was discovered. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire

Drug links and rips by associates of Mrs Tran are a key line of inquiry for police investigating the death, but sources said there was no intelligence to suggest any involvement by her.

While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the incident a “horrific event” when asked about it over the weekend, the Minns government - with Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley both on leave for Easter - had not spoken out about the crime.

Nationals MP and opposition spokesman for police Paul Toole slammed the government’s silence on the horrific incident. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE / Monique Harmer

Nationals MP and Opposition police spokesman Paul Toole slammed the government’s silence.

“I can’t believe neither the government, nor the Police Minister, have gone out and spoken on this to ensure the community of Bankstown know they are safe,” Mr Toole said.

“Everybody in that area would be living in fear thinking they could be the next victims of these thugs.

“Again, time after time, ministers are missing in action that should be sending a message to the residents that everything is being done by police to make sure that residents are feeling safe”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has been on leave over the Easter holidays. Picture: Christian Gilles / NewsWire

Also on leave over the weekend was Police Minister Yasmin Catley. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

When pressed by The Daily Telegraph on Sunday afternoon, acting Premier Prue Car responded to the incident.

Ms Car described the attack as “brazen and violent” and admitted that it had left locals “shaken”.

“Our thoughts are with the young children affected and the loved ones of the woman,” the acting premier said.

“The level of violence involved, particularly against children, is confronting and completely unacceptable.

“This appears to be a targeted attack – there is no ongoing threat to the wider community.

“Detectives from Strike Force Bushfield are investigating, with support from specialist homicide detectives.”

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph late last year, NSW Police warned they had seen an increase in violent crimes “where most of the alleged victims and perpetrators were of Asian background”.

Drug farmer Chong Kai “Jacky” Wong was found dead in a shallow grave on a rural property in Killongbutta, northwest of Bathurst, in 2020. Picture: NSW Police

Low level drug dealer Hongli Qi, 28, was found dead in 2022. Source – NSW Police

Those crimes have included multiple drug-related murders such as Chong Kai “Jacky” Wong in 2020 and Hongli Qi in 2022, the shooting assassinations of Xiao Zhao in Granville in 2023 and David Khou in 2024, and countless drug rips and kidnappings.

One of the most violent and notorious Asian organised crime murders was the double killing at Botany last December of Jai-Bao ‘Rex’ Chen and Zhuojun ‘Sally’ Li – a couple who had gambling debts – with police hunting a pair of hit men they believe flew back to Taiwan after carrying out the murders.

“If you wrong someone, they are brutal … that’s just the price of doing business,” a police source said.

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