Crime: Stephen Wong pleads guilty in Southport court after setting fire to home at Pimpama on Gold Coast

A Lotto winner who turned to drugs set fire to a Gold Coast garage, destroying his dad’s home and causing more than $500,000 in damage.

Stephen Wong outside Southport Courthouse on Wednesday. Picture: Lea Emery

A LOTTO winner who turned to drugs set fire to a Gold Coast garage, destroying the home and causing more than $500,000 in damage.

Stephen Wong told police that “mysterious people” were threatening him so he threw fuel around his father’s home on Brampton Court, Pimpama about 7.30am in September 19, 2019.

Wong pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on Wednesday to endangering property by fire.

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The Pimpama home destroyed by Wong. Photo: Annie Perets

The court was told Wong had turned to drugs shortly before the fire.

Defence barrister Bernard Reilly, instructed by Howden Saggers Lawyers, said Wong had won the lottery in about 2013 and received about $75,000 a year in winnings.

Judge David Kent sentenced him to three years probation.

Judge Kent noted the lottery win left Wong with “a lot of money and was able to spend a lot of it on drugs”.

Stephen Wong (left) with his lawyer Joe Wicking outside Southport Courthouse on Wednesday. Picture: Lea Emery

Wong would later change his story about squirting fuel at mysterious people to say a yoga mat was on fire.

It was not until police gained access to Wong’s mobile that they found a text message saying he has set the fire.

Investigators found the fire was started in the Subaru in the garage before spreading to the rest of the home.

The court was told that Wong has a long history of mental illness and often self medicated with drugs.

Wong’s father was able to get more than $500,000 in insurance after the phone was destroyed.

A conviction was recorded.