The victim of a Canberra home invasion had petrol in his eyes and mouth when he pleaded with a masked intruder not to set him on fire, a court has heard.
A police interview with the man was played to the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, when the jury trial of alleged assailant Robert James Smith, 32, began.
Smith has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm, an alternative allegation of committing an act endangering health, aggravated burglary, riding in a stolen vehicle and two counts of theft.
The victim sat with his dog, which was also splashed with fuel during the September 2020 incident in Kambah, as he told police about the ordeal.
He said he was watching television in his room when two intruders, wearing balaclavas he described as "a home job", forced his housemate through the door.
"They straight up said, 'We're here collect money owed'," the man told police.
The man, aged 36 at the time, denied owing anyone money or knowing who the intruders were, but he phoned a friend in the hope of getting some cash.
The friend did not answer, and the man said the burglars instructed his housemate to tie him up with a phone charger and, later, an extension cord.
The court also watched an interview with the housemate, who told police he eventually managed to run out of the house and seek help from a neighbour.
Crown prosecutor Trent Hickey played a recorded triple-0 call, in which the housemate used the neighbour's phone to tell police the intruders "were threatening to kill me and my flatmate with petrol".
"They've got knives. They want money," he said.
While the housemate was alerting authorities, Mr Hickey said one of the intruders, alleged to be Smith, used a jerry can to douse the 36-year-old victim, his dog and his bed in petrol.
The 36-year-old told police this intruder had a lighter in his hand and was about to ignite him as he yelled "please don't do this, I'll get you the money".
"There was petrol in my eyes and mouth," he said.
The victim said he managed to stop the invader by kicking him in the stomach and slamming the bedroom door on him.
In his opening address to the jury, Mr Hickey said the intruders eventually fled in the housemate's black Ford Ranger ute with the victim's iPhone.
That car was later allegedly discovered in a parking space assigned to Smith outside the 32-year-old's Spence home.
Inside the vehicle, police claim to have found Smith's DNA and items that included the stolen phone and a black balaclava.
Mr Hickey said a key issue for the trial jury would be whether they were satisfied one of the home invaders, described as "the tall guy", was Smith.
He told the jury the other intruder was a man named Kye Rowe, who had previously pleaded guilty to charges laid over his involvement in the incident.
Defence barrister James Sabharwal did not give an opening address to the jury.
The trial, before the jury and Acting Justice Stephen Norrish, continues.
