Jefferson Do: Dramatic moment police break into a car to rescue a vulnerable man trapped inside during Perth heatwave

Dramatic footage has emerged from a police bodycam showing a severely disabled man in distress being rescued from a locked car on a scorching summer day.

Former NDIS carer Tsz Wing Tam, 37, left his client Jefferson Do, 26, alone in a hot car at Perth’s Joondalup Shopping Centre on a 41 degree Celsius day while he went shopping and bought food for himself with his client’s money.

Mr Do, who requires 24-hour care due to his non-verbal autism, was left strapped to the back seat for two hours on January 13, one of the hottest days in Perth this year.

Passers-by saw a visibly upset Mr. Do struggling and beating his chest in the car, with only a small crack in the windshield allowing air in. They alerted security personnel.

The police bodycam footage can now be broadcast after Tam recently pleaded guilty and was sentenced.

Mr Do’s grateful family thanked emergency services for their quick action in saving his life after seeing the shocking images.

The images show the police coming to Mr. Do’s aid.

“Hey buddy, can you open the door,” a concerned officer asked him.

Former caregiver Tsz Wing Tam (center) was given a suspended sentence after recently pleading guilty to endangering the life, health and safety of his client

Mr. Do panicked and lashed out inside as police tried to break the window and unlock the door.

“Are you okay? Are you hot?” the officer asks as he hands him a bottle of water.

“There you have it, bring it on.”

Mr. Do grabbed the bottle and began to drink from it thirstily.

The footage later showed him being treated by paramedics and placed on a stretcher to be taken to hospital for a check-up.

Mr Do’s sister Fiona said the footage was difficult to watch.

“It was very confronting. They got him medical attention straight away, reported it to security and police and took him to hospital. I think that saved his life,” she told Nine News.

Harry, Mr. Do’s brother, also thanked the emergency services.

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you to the security guards, the police and the emergency services for all their hard work and being there that day to take care of my brother,” he said.

Tam pleaded guilty to theft and endangering the life of another person before being sentenced to a 12-month suspended prison sentence in June.

However, Harry feared the sentence would be too light to deter other NDIS carers from committing similar offences.

“People who are probably in violation right now will not be afraid because they will also get a slap on the wrist later,” he said.

Jefferson’s siblings and mother (all pictured with Jefferson) said the police bodycam footage was disturbing to watch

Tam had been working with the Do family for eight years and went on family vacations with them.

When Tam pleaded guilty in May, Mr Do’s family hoped he would receive a fitting punishment.

“The damage has been done, we will never trust another carer the way we did,” his brother Harry told reporters outside court at the time.

“It is truly heartbreaking for our family to know that we trusted someone and we were taken advantage of.”

The former NDIS worker cared for Mr Do four days a week for seven of the eight years he cared for him, the court heard during sentencing, WA Today reported.

Footage shows the swift rescue operation police and paramedics perform to save Jefferson

Tam regularly took Mr. Do to shopping malls and on that day in January he was asked to have lunch and socialize with him.

Mr Do’s mother gave her son money for the outing, which Tam later used to buy ice cream and chips for himself, the court heard.

While Magistrate Raelene Johnston She agreed he had no intention of harming Mr Do, but said Tam showed a “complete disregard” for his client’s vulnerability for his own “selfish purposes”.

She described Tam’s decision to spend his client’s money on lunch for himself as “disgraceful” and “selfish”.