Family of Brighton siege victim Kai ‘Nick’ Hao suing Victorian government over the parole of Yacqub Khayre

The grieving family of the man shot dead after a suspected terrorist stormed a budget motel in Brighton is suing Victoria’s Adult Parole Board claiming the killer should have been behind bars.

The grieving family of the man shot dead in the horrific Brighton siege claim he was killed because a suspected terrorist was paroled despite his risk of radicalisation.

Yacqub Khayre fired two bullets into Kai “Nick” Hao, a receptionist, in the lobby of a budget Brighton motel in Melbourne’s southeast on June 5, 2017.

Khayre was gunned down an hour later after he stormed towards heavily-armed police, having earlier declared “this is for Islamic State, this is for al-Qaeda”.

But Mr Hao’s family claim Khayre, a violent offender with more than 100 criminal convictions, should never have been released from prison on parole.

Kai ‘Nick’ Hao had only been married for two months when he was killed in the Brighton siege. Picture: Supplied

Yacqub Khayre was a violent offender with more than 100 criminal convictions. Picture: AAP

Mr Hao’s wife Lu Li and mother Yinping Zhang have launched legal action against the state government and the Adult Parole Board in the County Court over the decision to grant Khayre parole – without strict conditions – on November 30, 2016.

Speaking from China, where she returned following Mr Hao’s death, Ms Li said the alleged mismanagement of the criminal in the lead-up to the siege had caused irrevocable damage.

“This failing ultimately cost Kai his life,” she said in a statement to the Herald Sun.

Ms Li and Mr Hao, 36, had only been married for two months when his life was cruelly cut short.

The women are now seeking damages, claiming they suffer from major depressive disorder and sleep disturbances as a result of the “awful incident”.

Ms Zhang also says she experiences grief as a “Shidu parent”, a Chinese phenomenon relating to the loss of a parent’s only child.

Ms Zhang at a memorial service for Mr Hao. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Khayre had been on parole for only six months – after serving four and a half years behind bars for unrelated offences – when he orchestrated the deadly siege at the Buckingham Serviced Apartments on Bay St.

His Google history was littered with searches for extreme material, including ISIS, the 2014 Lindt Cafe siege, the 2015 Paris terror attacks and 2017 London Bridge attack.

His religious mentor – assigned to help him move away from extremism and to educate him about Islam – was on leave in the months leading up to the attack.

Years earlier, he was implicated in a foiled Islamic terror plot in 2009 when his friends planned to shoot dead personnel at the Holsworthy Army Barracks in NSW.

He was charged with conspiring to do acts in preparation for or planning a terrorist act.

“Khayre was acquitted of the … charge, but was determined to be at risk of radicalisation and was flagged as a person of interest,” the writ alleges.

Ms Li and Ms Zhang first filed the writ in 2020, but the proceedings were put on hold as their legal team waited on Coroner Audrey Jamieson to hand down her findings into the deaths of Mr Hao and Khayre.

In August 2023, Coroner Jamieson found she was unable to determine whether Khayre’s actions were “tantamount to a terror attack”.

Heavily-armed police descended on the Buckingham Serviced Apartments. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Khayre was paroled before the horrific siege at the motel. Picture: David Geraghty

Since Khayre said he did not want to kill the police but “wanted the police to kill him”, she said his violence was not indicative of “extremist or political ideology”.

She also found the decision taken by authorities to release Khayre on parole was “reasonable in the circumstances” and that his supervision, management and monitoring was “adequate”.

But in an amended writ filed last month, Ms Li and Ms Zhang allege Corrections Victoria failed to manage his risks and supervise his parole, while the APB failed to “take reasonable precautions to minimise the risk Khayre would engage in further violent and/or terror-related offending”.

They claim by failing to have regard to “his risk of radicalisation” and “his risk of association with known terrorism offenders”, no parole conditions were imposed that were directed at reducing these risks.

Ms Zhang and Mr Hao’s father during the memorial service. Picture: Hamish Blair

Ms Zhang is now suing the state. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Ms Li and Ms Zhang’s lawyer Kayla Cox, from Shine Lawyers, said the pair wanted stronger monitoring of high-risk criminals to ensure they do not reoffend.

“Their greatest hope is that no other family will have to endure the immense grief, trauma and legal battles they have faced for nearly a decade,” Ms Cox said.

“Kai’s murder has had a profoundly detrimental impact on his family, both emotionally and psychologically.

“He was so loved and his life was taken so cruelly. Their relentless pursuit of justice is testament to just how greatly he’s missed.”

A state government spokeswoman said given the matter was before the court, it would be inappropriate to comment.

The matter is set for trial in March next year.