Safety note: Admin approval is an initial review, not a guarantee that every detail is correct. Check important or urgent claims with official sources and report anything inaccurate or unsafe.
Source and credit: Contributor's own report
Smart summary
A 17-year-old has been sentenced to two years and nine months in detention for his role in a violent home invasion in Melbourne's east that left a man with 11 stab wounds and permanent eyesight damage.
A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to two years and nine months in detention for his role in a violent aggravated home invasion at Kew East in Melbourne. The teenager pleaded guilty to aggravated home invasion, assault offences and several other car theft-related crimes following the incident, which occurred in August 2025.
The home invasion took place at a property on Oxford Street in Kew East shortly before 4am. The family was asleep when intruders allegedly jumped over a fence and used garden shears to break a downstairs window. Several masked people then entered the property, with the Children's Court hearing that some members of the group were armed with machetes.
The homeowner, Kai Li, confronted the intruders while trying to protect his wife, two children, grandparents and a nanny who were inside the house. During the confrontation, Li suffered 11 stab wounds to his face and upper body. He was left with permanent damage to his eyesight following the attack.
Li's wife and grandparents were also assaulted during the invasion. The intruders allegedly stole the family's car before leaving the property. The incident had a lasting effect on the family, with Li telling the court that their lives had been changed permanently by what happened.
The court considered evidence about the teenager's involvement in the incident. Prosecutors did not allege that the 17-year-old personally caused Li's most serious injuries, but argued that he was involved in the broader plan to enter the property.
During sentencing, Judge Jack Vandersteen described the home invasion as a serious violation of the family's safety. The court also viewed footage captured by a baby monitor inside the house. The footage showed the frightening circumstances faced by the occupants during the incident.
The teenager told the court that he had consumed drugs and alcohol before the attack and said that much of the incident remained unclear to him. He had also written an apology letter and committed himself to changing his behaviour while in youth detention. The court heard that he had support from his family and church community.
The case was dealt with under the laws that applied before Victoria introduced its newer "Adult time for Violent Crime" legislation. Because the home invasion occurred before those changes, the teenager was dealt with through the Children's Court rather than automatically being transferred to the County Court under the newer arrangements.
The Children's Court has a maximum youth detention penalty of four years for the relevant offences. The teenager will now spend almost three years in detention as a result of the sentence.
Two other people charged in connection with the Kew home invasion remain before the courts. Police are also continuing to search for two additional people believed to have been involved.
The case has renewed attention on the impact of violent home invasions on victims and their families, particularly when young offenders are involved. The sentencing process has considered both the serious harm suffered by the victims and the circumstances surrounding the young offender's participation.
CourtHomeInvasionTeenagerFamily
A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to two years and nine months in detention for his role in a violent aggravated home invasion at Kew East in Melbourne. The teenager pleaded guilty to aggravated home invasion, assault offences and several other car theft-related crimes following the incident, which occurred in August 2025.
The home invasion took place at a property on Oxford Street in Kew East shortly before 4am. The family was asleep when intruders allegedly jumped over a fence and used garden shears to break a downstairs window. Several masked people then entered the property, with the Children's Court hearing that some members of the group were armed with machetes.
The homeowner, Kai Li, confronted the intruders while trying to protect his wife, two children, grandparents and a nanny who were inside the house. During the confrontation, Li suffered 11 stab wounds to his face and upper body. He was left with permanent damage to his eyesight following the attack.
Li's wife and grandparents were also assaulted during the invasion. The intruders allegedly stole the family's car before leaving the property. The incident had a lasting effect on the family, with Li telling the court that their lives had been changed permanently by what happened.
The court considered evidence about the teenager's involvement in the incident. Prosecutors did not allege that the 17-year-old personally caused Li's most serious injuries, but argued that he was involved in the broader plan to enter the property.
During sentencing, Judge Jack Vandersteen described the home invasion as a serious violation of the family's safety. The court also viewed footage captured by a baby monitor inside the house. The footage showed the frightening circumstances faced by the occupants during the incident.
The teenager told the court that he had consumed drugs and alcohol before the attack and said that much of the incident remained unclear to him. He had also written an apology letter and committed himself to changing his behaviour while in youth detention. The court heard that he had support from his family and church community.
The case was dealt with under the laws that applied before Victoria introduced its newer "Adult time for Violent Crime" legislation. Because the home invasion occurred before those changes, the teenager was dealt with through the Children's Court rather than automatically being transferred to the County Court under the newer arrangements.
The Children's Court has a maximum youth detention penalty of four years for the relevant offences. The teenager will now spend almost three years in detention as a result of the sentence.
Two other people charged in connection with the Kew home invasion remain before the courts. Police are also continuing to search for two additional people believed to have been involved.
The case has renewed attention on the impact of violent home invasions on victims and their families, particularly when young offenders are involved. The sentencing process has considered both the serious harm suffered by the victims and the circumstances surrounding the young offender's participation.
A 42-year-old man has died after a quad bike crash near Wodonga, while another fatal quad bike incident was recorded in regional New South Wales within...
Two people were taken to hospital after a white Honda crashed through the front room of a house in Longford, northern Tasmania, with no one inside the h...
Police are investigating the disappearance of 212 cattle from a remote property near Wilcannia in far-western New South Wales, with the livestock estima...
A Queensland man has been charged with allegedly bribing a foreign public official while Australian and Bangladeshi authorities continue investigating t...
Australian children's author and illustrator Terry Denton, best known for his long-running creative partnership on the popular Treehouse books, has died...
A 42-year-old man has died after a quad bike crash near Wodonga, while another fatal quad bike incident was recorded in regional New South Wales within...
Twenty new emergency department beds at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital are expected to remain unused because funding has not been provided for th...
Security testing has found that some low-cost AI smart glasses sold in Australia can potentially be accessed by nearby attackers, exposing stored photos...
A 42-year-old woman has been charged with murder and attempted murder after three children were found with stab wounds at Valley Heights in the Blue Mou...
Australian children's author and illustrator Terry Denton, best known for his long-running creative partnership on the popular Treehouse books, has died...
A 42-year-old man has died after a quad bike crash near Wodonga, while another fatal quad bike incident was recorded in regional New South Wales within...
Two people were taken to hospital after a white Honda crashed through the front room of a house in Longford, northern Tasmania, with no one inside the h...
