A former high-profile real estate executive has been found guilty of stealing a taxi and driving it while drunk after a judge dismissed claims he acted because he feared for his life.
Brett Henson, 42, was charged after taking off with the vehicle at around 9pm on November 4, 2022 after a night out at Sydney nightspot Ivy. He abandoned the disabled car in Woollahra, east of the city.
Henson pleaded not guilty in court, arguing that he stole the vehicle because he was being chased by the taxi driver, Sayeed Ali Khan, and a group of men after a dispute broke out when he broke the taxi’s door handle.
Henson claimed that the group of men called themselves the “Muslim Brotherhood” and were trying to kill him. He claimed that they started persecuting him after siding with Khan.
But Magistrate Gregory Moore rejected Henson’s claims in Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court on Monday, finding him guilty of stealing a vehicle and drink-driving.
“I do not accept that the defendant was forced to drive the vehicle because of those threats,” Mr. Moore said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Former Mirvac executive Brett Henson is seen at Sydney’s Downing Center Court in March.
Magistrate Moore said Henson could have taken other steps, such as calling emergency services or asking witnesses for help, if he feared for his safety, rather than stealing the vehicle.
However, the magistrate ruled that Henson was not guilty of a third charge: reckless driving. He was not convinced there was sufficient evidence to support the crime.
CCTV footage presented to the court showed Henson grabbing the door of the taxi and falling on his back with his legs in the air.
He then fled the scene while the driver pursued him on foot. Henson then returned to the vehicle and drove away.
Henson previously denied he fell due to alcohol poisoning, claiming he was thrown backwards to the ground when the door handle broke.
He also claimed in court that Khan, who is not accused of any crime, said he would “add it to the bill” when he returned home.
But he alleged that the driver then tried to ‘extort’ him by asking him to withdraw money from an ATM.
The former Mirvac executive claimed Khan was “extremely aggressive” and when he did not give him the money, a group of four or five men pounced on him.
CCTV footage allegedly shows Mirvac executive Brett Henson falling on his back after getting into an altercation with a Sydney taxi driver.
‘They took the taxi driver’s side trying to get money from me, trying to take my phone or my wallet. “I said leave me alone,” Henson previously said.
“When they were chasing me I told them ‘just call the police’ and they said ‘we are the police’.”
Henson attempted to flee the group but told the court they would not leave him alone and surrounded him for 10 minutes.
“I was petrified, trying to get away from these guys,” Henson told the court.
He told the court he was “belted” and he landed on the floor with his shirt torn, causing bruises on his arms, hips and chest.
The court was told the men were saying ‘let’s get him’.
“I needed to get away from there, there was no other way to escape… I can’t call the police… there’s no other option,” Mr Henson told the court.
Henson managed to get away from the group and jumped into the taxi.
He told the court he was terrified of the group, so he ran several red lights before finally stopping at an intersection in the eastern suburbs.
When his lawyer asked him what was going through his head, Henson said, “These guys are going to kill me.”
“I would be the victim of a king coup and my family would be up here instead of me being here today explaining.”
However, Mr Khan gave evidence that Henson was “aggressive and shouting” and had said: “Do you want to fight me?”
Henson was reportedly a senior capital transactions manager for property giant Mirvac at the time of the crime and owns a $3.3 million home in Brontë.
The former prominent real estate figure was arrested in late 2022 after New South Wales Police circulated photos of the incident. She is now unemployed.
Henson will be sentenced on June 24.
