Warning: Distressing content
Bruised, gasping for breath and screaming out for help, a woman believed her life was over when an ex-partner brutally attacked her following their break-up.
Brisbane man Qiuye Zhu, 35, pleaded guilty before Brisbane District Court on Thursday to one count each of written threats to murder, assault occasioning bodily harm, and choking.
All three offences were categorised as domestic violence.
The court heard Zhu, an otherwise law-abiding man with no Australian criminal history, commenced a brutal and violent attack on his ex-girlfriend in April 2025.
While the pair had known each other for years, they only dated for the two months prior to the offending.
Following the breakdown of the short lived relationship, Zhu wasted no time sending an onslaught of abusive messages to the woman, pleading for her to get back together while threatening to “make her disappear”.
“It included threats to kill and bury her,” Crown prosecutor Ryan Minuti said.
The court was told the woman was scared by the messages and so agreed to meet Zhu the same night.
After a driving around her neighbourhood, Zhu returned the woman to her home but became aggressive as she left his car.
“He again threatened to kill her,” Mr Minuti said.
“He got out of the car and slapped her multiple times to the face, (she) slapped him twice in response.”
Zhu then grabbed the woman’s neck with one hand, slamming her into the ground and squeezing tight.
“(She) describes she couldn’t breathe, her eyes were bulging,” Mr Minuti said.
She struggled as Zhu continuously punched her in the face, with his grip still firmly around her neck.
He then put both hands around her neck and pushed down which caused the woman to momentarily black out.
“He eventually let go as she continued to call for help but he continued to punch and kick her,” Mr Minuti added.
The woman managed to escape to her home where she contacted triple-0 in a panic.
She suffered bruising and scratches to her left eye, neck and parts of her body.
In a victim impact statement, she described experiencing flashbacks and feeling a “constant sense of danger”.
Zhu was arrested shortly after and made some admissions to police but did not admit to strangling the woman.
The court was told Zhu, a Chinese-born immigrant living in Australia on a permanent residency, was at risk of deportation due to his violent attack.
Defence barrister Dominic Nguyen said Zhu was genuinely remorseful for his offending, reflecting on his brutality in a letter of remorse tendered to the court.
The court was told Zhu had completed a six-hour rehabilitative program with Drug ARM while on remand and had taken up work in the laundry.
Mr Nguyen urged the court to organise a sentence that would adequately allow for Zhu to continue his rehabilitation efforts.
Judge Amanda McDonnell stressed to the court the seriousness of Zhu’s offending and its enduring impact on his victim.
“She truly believed that you intended to kill her,” she said.
“Strangulation is inherently dangerous and is a predictive indicator of the escalation of domestic violence, including homicide.
“Domestic violence is abhorrent, people that are in our lives deserve better treatment than this.”
Zhu was sentenced to three years imprisonment and granted immediate parole, having served 338 days in pre-sentence custody.
With a sentence of more than 12 months imprisonment, his visa may be subject to cancellation under the Migration Act 1958.
