Attackers torture backpacker for 16 hours

A backpacker visiting Australia was tortured for about 16 hours by three men after being lured to a warehouse in the north eastern city of Brisbane, police said today.

Detective Inspector Ben Hanbridge said the 19-year-old man, who had recently arrived in the country, suffered broken bones, burns, cuts and bruises in the assault, which began last night and ended today.

He was being treated at a Brisbane hospital. Police said they were questioning three men, but had brought no charges.

Hanbridge said the man – whose identity and nationality have not been disclosed – had been robbed.

It appeared that his torturers were trying to extract information from him, but no clear motive had been determined.

“He just turned up in this park and met these people, they befriended him and invited him back to this place here and unbeknownst to him they had obviously had other intentions,” Hanbridge told reporters outside the warehouse.

“He was held against his will. He was tied to a chair and he was fairly viciously assaulted throughout the course of the night,” he said.

Officers located the backpacker and the three suspects after a member of the public called police this morning.

Hanbridge said the warehouse was occupied by squatters, and police were seeking two other people in relation to the attack.