What began as a disgruntled eviction spiraled into a dangerous ordeal involving arson and intimidation, climaxing with a house set ablaze while two children and their grandmother were trapped inside. The perpetrator, known to her victims as “the housemate from hell,” recently faced the consequences of her actions in court.

Tsai-Wei Hung, aged 33, appeared before Melbourne’s County Court where she was confronted with evidence of her relentless three-month campaign of terror. She admitted to over a dozen charges, including extortion, four counts of arson, and two charges of conduct endangering persons.

The court heard chilling details of her actions. In June 2024, Hung was seen shouting “go to hell” as she set fire to the front door of her landlord’s property, with 11 people, including young children and a grandmother, asleep inside.

In a bid to safeguard themselves from Hung’s escalating threats, landlord Lin Zhang had gathered friends and tenants at his home that night. This precaution followed months of harassment from Hung, who had been targeting them ever since her eviction.

Landlord Lin Zhang had asked friends to come over for protection that night, along with his tenants, as Hung had been targeting them since she was evicted months earlier.

Police had to be called when Hung was evicted from Zhang’s Clyde North property on March 10.

However, less than two hours later Hung returned to retrieve more belongings and police were called a second time, which caused her to become “angry and aggressive”, prosecutor David Gray said.

She got into her car and drove to the back garage, where she threw eggs at the roller door.

Hung then accelerated towards her former housemate Chung-Ting Tuan and Zhang “at fast speed”, stopping sharply about one metre away from them, Gray said.

She drove into the garage roller door, damaging it and three vehicles parked inside, fleeing before police arrived.

Hung returned the next day to further damage the vehicles inside the garage and went to Pakenham Police Station that afternoon where she claimed “she just wanted to scare them”.

On June 10 Hung returned to the Clyde North rental and set the front door on fire and then set two cars alight.

A former housemate who claimed to have had a friendly relationship with Hung, sent her a message the next day as she “felt there needed to be better communication about what Hung wanted”, Gray said.

“Please tell him that he and his family have to be careful or they will have the same experience as me, or even lose more than that,” Hung said in the text.

Zhang arranged for his tenants to stay with him in Berwick that evening and invited friends over for an added level of protection, as his children and their grandmother were sleeping inside.

About 4.45am Hung poured accelerant outside the front entrance of his home and used matches to set it alight, with Zhang hearing her say “go to hell” before starting the fire.

The fire was put out easily, but Hung’s victims told the court today how they continue to live with trauma from her offending.

“I was absolutely terrified,” a child said, in a statement read by Gray.

“Ever since Hung came into our lives everything has become really intense. I keep worrying that I’ll be burnt to death.”

Zhang said he lived in “constant fear” between March and June of 2024.

“This experience has permanently damaged my sense of safety,” he said, in a statement read to court.

“Even in my own home I don’t feel safe.”

Defence lawyer Courtney Hart said Hung was assaulted on March 10 by other tenants and had “allowed it to fester in her mind” leading her to commit the offences.

Hung, who remains in custody, will return to the court in January

Outside court, Zhang said Hung was “the housemate from hell” but her behaviour was even worse than that.

“It’s been a disaster and a nightmare for us,” he said.