A love cheat husband told a jury how his brother-in-law went “ballistic” after finding him in bed with another woman in a Black Country restaurant.
Andy Mao had warned 38-year-old divorced mother-of-one Jenny Lam to end her affair with father-of-three Ian Vuong, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
The trio were converting the former Aphrodite restaurant in the city centre into a Chinese diner and were sleeping on the premises during the renovation work when the disastrous discovery was made.
Mr Vuong told the court: “Andy found me and Jenny in the same bed and went ballistic.
“He was shouting and calling her a liar because she had vowed to end our affair.”
Mao grabbed Miss Lam by the hair and put a knife to the neck of her 49-year-old lover, the court heard yesterday.
She had her hands bound behind her back and was shackled to a shelf in a side room where Mao was allegedly seen by Mr Vuong drenching her with white spirit.
Mao then threatened to “burn Jenny to death” by lighting a jet of gas from a bottle before slashing Mr Vuong across the left arm during a struggle to force him into a toilet where he was imprisoned for several hours manacled to a ladder, it was said.
The pair were only freed when Mr Vuong’s wife and other relatives arrived.
Miss Lam was driven by relatives to her home but was so ill by the time the car reached Kent after wearing her soaked clothes for several hours, they made a detour to hospital.
The white spirit caused burns to 75 per cent of her body, which became infected and was blamed for her death five months later.
Mao, from Lewisham, denies manslaughter and wounding with intent but pleads guilty to the false imprisonment of Mr Vuong.
Click to view the profile for David Mason QC – Defending
