Adams Kipkosgei Bett, a Kenyan national has been behind bars for almost 14 months in Sydney, Australia for allegedly burning down a mansion worth Ksh2.3 billion (A$24 million).
Media reports have it that Bett who was 19 at the time of the incident was coerced by his former employer identified as Steve Nassif to commit the crime.
News.com.au reported that Bett arrived in Australia in April 2022 and had only stayed in the country for five months before the incident.
After arriving in the country, he engaged in construction and tree lopping jobs and had previously done some fencing work for property developer Nassif. Bett met Mr Nassif about three months after he first arrived in Australia.
On the day of the incident in September 2022, he received a call from Nassif who allegedly asked if he was available before they bought petrol and drove towards the property allegedly owned by a Chinese tycoon.
The Kenyan national was then asked to burn down the property. Scared of Nassif, Bett went on to light the fire as his former employer was seated in the car watching.
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“Mr Nassif said to him (Bett) “You must light the fire”. Mr. Bett said he did so because he was “scared of him” and thought the fire “had to happen”. Court documents read.
“Mr Bett had never started a fire before and was (allegedly) directed by Mr Nassif to enter the premises, pour the petrol, and light the fire by standing behind the poured petrol.”
The documents also revealed that Bett originally was supposed to light the fire a week earlier, however, refused to do so. The young man was only interested in getting jobs from Nassir but not that kind of a job.
“No reason was proffered for doing so and he did not know why the fire had to be lit… No money had been given to Mr Bett for the fire and he didn’t ask as he hadn’t expected to do that job.” Court documents add.
Bett pleaded guilty to the charge of intentionally or recklessly damaging property. He will be sentenced on March 26 and faces a maximum of 10 years in jail.
On the other hand, Nassir who admitted to being friends with the owner of the damaged property, denied all the charges and was released on bail.
