Tourist chasing bike thief jailed after death in Perth
A Singaporean holidaymaker was sentenced to five years and nine months for killing a man after chasing him on an e-bike.
Lincoln Ng, 29, was on a Perth holiday. A thief broke into his rental car and stole a backpack.
It held his passport, iPad and cash. Ng and his girlfriend's family tracked it using an AirTag.
They spotted the man riding away on an e-bike. Ng chased him for about 10 minutes.
He hit the rear wheel to knock him off the bike. Then Ng drove toward him while the man was on the ground.
The victim, Mark John Burnes, died in hospital from multiple injuries. Ng pleaded guilty to manslaughter after initially being charged with murder.
The judge said Ng's actions involved "a degree of vigilantism". The judge noted that Burnes was vulnerable on a bike while Ng had a car.
The court accepted Ng may have panicked after hitting him. But the judge said Ng should have stopped the car immediately instead of pressing forward.
- 5 years and 9 months
- Sentence length
- Perth, Western Australia
- Location of death
- About 10 minutes
- Chase duration
- 25 metres
- Distance dragged
Why it mattersThe case shows how chasing justice can quickly escalate into fatal harm, even when intentions are not to seriously hurt.
AustraliaIt's a reminder to Australian travellers that chasing suspects or taking law enforcement into your own hands can result in serious criminal charges, regardless of being the victim of theft.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 41 min ago
