Two Bhutanese men arrested in Perth over alleged machete chase

2026-03-02 - 08:05

At 2:20 am, Northbridge in Perth is typically bustling with partygoers enjoying the nightlife in its bars and entertainment hubs, especially on weekends. But the thrill took a different turn on Saturday, 21st February, when a scene resembling a movie sequence unfolded. Police allege that a 24-year-old Bhutanese man carrying a machete and his 23-year-old brother wielding a tyre iron ran through the entertainment strip in pursuit of two other men. The chase ended at a karaoke bar, where security staff refused the brothers entry. In the confusion, the elder brother allegedly sliced his own hand and was later hospitalized. Twenty-five minutes after the first emergency calls, officers arrested the brothers on Lake Street. The incident, reported by The West Australian and broadcast nationally by 9News, might otherwise have remained just another late-night altercation in Australia. However, their reports carried a detail that resonated far beyond Western Australia, which is that the two men were Bhutanese. Perth over the past decade, has become the epicenter of Bhutan’s modern migration story. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the 2021 Census recorded over 12,000 Bhutan-born residents nationwide, with Western Australia hosting the largest concentration. Since then, migration analysts and community leaders estimate that Australia’s Bhutanese population has more than doubled, with Perth alone believed to host between 15,000 and 20,000 Bhutanese residents by 2026. The increased population means that there will be more deaths, accidents and victims but this is the first time that Bhutanese being involved in crime has received such wide coverage in the Australian media. For many in Bhutan, Perth represents opportunity made tangible, a place offering further studies, part-time work, post-study employment pathways, and a route towards permanent residency. Western Australia’s education institutions have seen steady Bhutanese enrolments since 2022. Community associations have multiplied, and social media groups for “Bhutanese in Perth” now number in the tens of thousands. For many young Bhutanese, Perth represents mobility – economic, educational, and social. Remittances flow home. Stories of success circulate faster than stories of struggle. Yet migration is rarely frictionless. Rapid community growth brings pressures such as employment insecurity, housing stress, visa anxieties, isolation, and, occasionally, conflict. The Bhutanese community in Perth has taken steps to expand support networks focused on legal awareness, mental health, and crisis response, mindful that even isolated incidents can echo loudly when a community’s reputation is at stake and shape perceptions of an entire diaspora.