Man jailed over housemate kidnapping, assault in St Albans

A man who tied up his housemate and forced him to drink turpentine in a vicious attack sparked by a dispute about their St Albans living arrangements has been jailed for at least five years.

Louis Huynh will spend at least five years in jail over the brutal kidnapping and assault of his former housemate. Picture: iStock

A man tied up his housemate, forced him to drink turpentine and left him overnight in a van on the side of the road after he was asked to move out of the St Albans home they shared.

Louis Huynh was today sentenced to a minimum of five years’ jail over the “horrific” 2017 assault which put Mihai Toth in hospital for nearly a month.

The County Court heard Huynh had moved in to a room in Mr Toth’s rental property just weeks before the brutal attack but was asked to leave when he started bringing guests home late at night and eating Mr Toth’s food.

Huynh was offered $600 to leave but instead, the 37-year-old and two other men ambushed Mr Toth when he arrived home from the shops one afternoon.

The three men punched and kicked Mr Toth, put tape over his mouth, bound his wrists and ankles and threatened to kill him, the court heard.

They then put a hood over his head and threw him in the back of his van, driving for about an hour before stopping in a bush area and savagely kicking a bound and gagged Mr Toth and forcing him to hand over the PIN for his bank card.

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When he couldn’t remember the number, the men removed the tape from his mouth and poured turpentine down his throat before reapplying the tape, shoving Mr Toth back into the van and leaving him there overnight.

The next day the men returned and drove Mr Toth back to the house, leaving him lying on the floor in a bedroom.

Huynh called an associate whose phone was being lawfully tapped by police investigating him for drug crimes.

During the call, Huynh said: “I fell out with my landlord and tied him up … he needs help so good luck to him”.

Police arrived and found the victim with injuries to his chest, face and arms.

Mr Toth was also suffering from respiratory failure and spent six days in intensive care before being transferred to another ward where he stayed until mid-December.

Huynh was arrested 10 days after the attack after police found him hiding in a bedroom cupboard at another St Albans address.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Toth said he now lived in fear.

“It is a miracle I am alive,” he said.

“I want to go back to Romania but I cannot. I am disabled and not able to work and people there will laugh at me … I am unable to do anything.”

Huynh pleaded guilty to kidnapping, intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence, theft and false imprisonment.

In a letter to Mr Toth, Huynh apologised for his “cruel and senseless actions”.

Judge Elizabeth Gaynor said Huynh had a “long and serious” criminal history, including convictions for theft and robbery.

In 2003 Huynh was jailed for nine years over an assault in which the victim lost an eye.

The court heard Huynh had turned to ice to “numb the feelings” after his mother walked out on the family when he was a teen, leaving him homeless and unsupported.

Judge Gaynor said Huynh had “made a creditable attempt” to turn his life around after his release from prison but once his drug use spiralled out of control, he returned to crime.

“I accept that your life took an appalling turn for the worst when your mother left your home,” she said.

“It is my belief that you want to carve out a useful, productive life that offers you peace and contentment and I believe that you have the capacity to do that but you are not going to be able to do that until you … have a true understand of how ruinous drugs are for you.

“You have made a number of attempts in your life to put yourself on another path and … I think you are making a really good fist of doing that again.”

While in custody, Huynh has “undergone every program you could possibly do”, including alcohol and drugs counselling and behavioural change programs.

Judge Gaynor sentenced Huynh to seven years in jail with a minium of five years to be served before he is eligible for parole.