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Woman tied up, set alight, court told

An Indonesian-born Perth man who tried to kill his former landlord told her he loved her before tying her up, injecting her with a sedative, dousing her in petrol and setting her alight, a Perth court has been told.

In an ordeal which lasted more than eight hours 28-year-old Cui Ling Tao was tied up, bashed and robbed by her former housemate Anton Pawira Bintan who left her for dead after sedating her and setting her on fire.

Bintan is due to be sentenced in the Supreme Court next week after admitting charges which include attempted murder, aggravated robbery, using violence to render Ms Tao incapable of resistance and criminal damage by fire.

Ms Tao, a naturalised Australian from China who worked with BHP Billiton in Perth, received burns to 60 per cent of her body and had to have four fingers on her left hand amputated. She now wears a compression suit every day and has been left with permanent scarring, the court was told.

Details of how Bintan tried to kill Ms Tao were revealed in the Supreme Court this morning during sentencing submissions.

Bintan initially pleaded not guilty to attempting to murder Ms Tao but changed his plea to guilty on the day he was due to stand trial in the Supreme Court in February.

State prosecutor James MacTaggart said Ms Tao had just got out of the shower of her Cannington unit on the evening of December 20, 2011, when she was confronted in her bedroom by her former tenant who was wearing a balaclava.

Bintan gained entry to the unit using keys from when he lived at the unit earlier in the year.

During the "cruel ordeal", Bintan assaulted his former landlord, tasering her and repeatedly punching her in the face and head while telling her he loved her and demanding money and her bank details.

He also produced a hammer and tied her hands behind her back before forcibly injecting her with the powerful sedative Midazolam, which he had crushed up with liquid and put in a syringe, Mr MacTaggart told the court.

He covered Ms Tao with a blanket and tied her to a bed with cable ties before taking her car and driving to a nearby service station to buy petrol before returning to the unit and dousing her with it and setting her on fire.

Bintan also deliberately lit several other fires throughout the unit before stealing money and bank cards from her wallet and fleeing the property.

A neighbour saw smoke coming from Ms Tao's unit and called firefighters before gaining entry to the unit and attempting to put out the fire.

Ms Tao was discovered in her bedroom unconscious severely burnt.

Mr MacTaggart said a fire expert believed the fire would have been fatal and spread if the bedroom door had not been closed.

Police and fire crews at the scene of the fire in 2011. Picture: Steve Ferrier/The West Australian


More than a week after the attack, when Ms Tao was able to speak coherently, she was interviewed by police and was able to identify her attacker as the man who had once rented a room from her.

As details of his crimes were read to the court, Bintan, who was wearing a purple shirt, sat with his eyes closed, mumbling to himself.

Friends and family of Ms Tao crowded into the public gallery, sobbing as Mr MacTaggart read to the court details of what 28-year-old accountant endured on the evening of December 20, 2011.

Bintan's lawyer Terry Dobson said his 34-year-old client understood he would be jailed for the offences and although he accepted the facts, he had been unable to say why he did the things he did to his former landlord.

"(It) may be denial of a person not wanting to accept they've done such a cruel thing to another human being," Mr Dobson told the court.

Mr Dobson referred to Bintan's "odd" behaviour, saying he believed he had a young girl and a dog following him around.

He said Bintan did not have a serious criminal history before the offending involving Ms Tao.

"While in prison, he does want to improve and better himself," Mr Dobson said.

Mr MacTaggart told the court Ms Tao had come to Australia wanting a better life for herself but she was now confronted with the question of how she was meant to live.

Supreme Court Justice Ralph Simmonds indicated he may give Bintan some discount in his sentences for pleading guilty and saving Ms Tao "the ultimate ordeal" of having to give evidence at trial.

He said photos of Ms Tao's injuries were "deeply affecting".

Bintan was remanded in custody to be sentenced on Wednesday afternoon.

Outside court, two of Ms Tao's friends Chris Buckley and Andrew Dawson said it had been incredibly difficult to hear details of how their friend was almost murdered and that her life would never be the same again.

Ms Tao was unable to attend court today.