A Sydney man's desperate bid to save his home from compulsory acquisition for the WestConnex motorway ended in his arrest on Friday, as a squad of police officers were called in to forcibly remove him after he allegedly made prior threats to government staff.
Van Ngo, 68, was arrested for allegedly breaching the peace and escorted into a paddy wagon outside his home in St Peters in the inner west, on Friday afternoon.
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Homeowner arrested during WestConnex eviction
A Sydney man is arrested while attempting to prevent the compulsory acquisition of his home for the WestConnex motorway.
It is understood Mr Ngo also had a knife in his possession, which police confiscated.
Mr Ngo was the last remaining homeowner along a strip of houses on Campbell Street that have been acquired by the state government for the $16.8 billion WestConnex motorway project.
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Just before midday, police officers arrived to forcibly remove Mr Ngo from his home, after he refused attempts by officers from the NSW Sheriff Office to evict him.
Onlookers said Mr Ngo, who had lived in the home for over two decades with his wife and two sons, was "very upset" and yelled at police for almost an hour on the footpath outside his home, before he eventually relinquished.
"He was very upset, he doesn't see why he should have to give up his house," Anne Picot from the WestConnex Action Group said.
Ms Picot, who watched the incident unfold, said she and four other members from the action group decided to photograph and film the incident after being tipped off about the arrival of police at Mr Ngo's home.
"He was surrounded by cops. The sheriffs were waiting on the locksmith to change the locks, so they could take possession," Ms Picot said.
In the video footage, Mr Ngo can be seen shouting "No, never, no" and "I go by myself" shortly before escorted by police towards a paddy wagon, which was parked on the other side of the road.
Two officers restrained Mr Ngo while a third officer removed Mr Ngo's belt and the possessions from his pockets before he entered the back of the wagon.
A NSW police spokeswoman confirmed Mr Ngo had been arrested and had been "taken to Newtown Police Station where it's expected he will shortly be released from custody".
A spokesman for the NSW Roads and Maritime Services said police were called into handle the situation because Mr Ngo had previously made "a number of threats" to the RMS in the lead-up to Friday's eviction, which were taken "very seriously".
Mr Ngo is among hundreds of homeowners who have had their properties acquired by the state government for the WestConnex motorway project, which is being being constructed in three stages.
The properties acquired on Campbell Street are for the second stage of the project, which includes tunnels from Beverly Hills to St Peters and a spaghetti junction of ramps.
The Baird government has faced criticism for its handling of the acquisition process, following complaints by landowners that they were compensated at below-market value for their homes.
Some complained they were forced to pay rent to the government to stay in their homes while they appealed through the courts.
In October, the government announced a number of reforms to the acquisition process, including scrapping the rule requiring homeowners to pay rent while the appeals process was underway, and allowing them extra time to negotiate how much they are paid for their property.
A total of 427 properties are marked for acquisition for the WestConnex project, 111 of which are yet to be acquired.
Figures from June this year revealed that 266 properties had been acquired through negotiation and 49 compulsorily, according to information obtained by the NSW opposition under access to government information laws.