Tradie faces an epic lawsuit after learning the verdict for breaking into the boss’s house and kidnapping his two children
- Jiangang Ji, a plasterer, broke into the boss’s house
- He tied up his boss’s wife and kidnapped their children
- Ji reacted furiously after the jury found him guilty
A Melbourne craftsman who broke into his boss’s house, tied up his wife and kidnapped their children suffered a meltdown in court after a jury ruled he was guilty.
The jury returned their verdicts on Wednesday after three days of deliberation in the County Court of Victoria.
Jiangang Ji, a plasterer, has pleaded guilty to five charges, including kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated burglary and car theft, but denied three related charges, including common assault against the woman while she was detained.
The court was told Ji had worked for the man for two years, but claimed he snapped under constant verbal abuse and psychological pressure.
After being found guilty, Ji dramatically slammed down the headphones he had been wearing and muttered angrily.
Jiangang Ji has admitted to abducting the two children from a home in Blackburn North
Prosecutor Kristie Churchill said Ji knew where his boss lived after working on their property seven or eight times in the past and waited for the man to leave for work in the early hours of Aug. 23, 2021.
Armed with a knife and duct tape, he broke into the house and used the tape to bind the woman’s ankles and wrists before covering her mouth and eyes.
“One can imagine the sheer terror of being confronted in the early hours of the morning by a strange man … gagged and restrained,” said Mrs Churchill in her closing remarks.
“(She) testified to what was undoubtedly a traumatic event… what she described is a nightmare and would stay with you.”
Ji left her at home, placed their two young children in the trunk of the family’s Mercedes-Benz and drove to his home in Mitcham.
Police were alerted after the woman, still tied up, managed to raise the alarm after asking passersby for help.
Just after 7pm, about 12 hours after the children were abducted, Ji was arrested at his home loading them back into the car.
During his account of the interrogation, he told police that he “hated” his boss and wanted to teach him a lesson.
“As soon as I did it, I regret what I did and realize how serious child abduction was,” he said.
Armed with a knife and duct tape, he broke into the house and used the tape to bind the woman’s ankles and wrists before covering her mouth and eyes.
The jury was told that Ji had admitted to ransom demands during his interview, but claimed it was only to “scare” his boss.
“Give me $1 million, I’ll return the kids or I’ll destroy the car and the kids,” he said.
Ji responded by shaking his head and muttering angrily when the jury found him guilty of the three remaining charges, including assaulting his boss’s wife.
The court was told that Ji, while bound, applied force to her abdomen with the knife, with doctors later discovering an 11.5 cm abrasion.
His lawyer, Carmela Pezzimenti, had argued that Ji had not assaulted the woman, saying during his interview that “nothing has been withheld.”
“(He has pleaded not guilty) for one reason and one reason alone, because he did not commit these crimes,” she said.
When the jury left the room, Ji banged the headset he was wearing for a Mandarin translator to explain the procedure in the dock.
Ji will return to court on August 2.
