A Canberra business owner made a "vicious threat" to cut his former employee's fingers off when he feared the victim would take "company secrets", staff and customers.
"You won't have any fingers left to screw any screws," the offender was recorded saying.
Bin Chen, 40, faced the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to threatening to inflict grievous bodily harm.
The man will enter into an 18-month good behaviour order, without conviction.
Chen, who emigrated to Australia from China more than decade ago, founded a construction supply company in Canberra in 2019 and employed the victim in 2020.
The victim resigned in May 2021 and set out to establish his own Canberra business in a similar field.
Chen first threatened the man over WeChat a month later, with concerns the former employee would take secrets from the business and use them to his advantage.
The men organised to meet in the offender's car and had a 16-minute conversation, which was recorded on the victim's Apple Watch.
He repeated the threat of severing the man's fingers four times relating to him starting the new company.
"If you dare act out of line, I'll destroy you ... I'll squash you like a motherf---ing ant," Chen said.
"As long as you are in Canberra, you will be followed.
"I am meeting you in person today but next time it won't be me. Do you believe me?"
When the conversation ended, the victim played the recorded conversation to his wife and soon after reported the incident to police.
"He was scared for himself and his family," Justice Verity McWilliam said.
"He no longer felt safe where he lived."
Reading parts of the man's victim impact statement on Friday, the judge said he had "fallen into darkness that impacts his daily life".
"The victim feels that nothing is getting better," she said.
Justice McWilliam said she had heard several accounts of Chen being a "hard-working businessman", an upstanding member of the community and a good family man.
However, she said she had concerns that "beneath the surface" laid an "underlying ruthlessness in the offender".
"The lash of a person who knew he could and did wield power over people," she said.
Justice McWilliam said the man had expressed significant remorse for his actions, which took place when Chen was under significant professional stress with a "trusted production manager leaving his business".
The judge said Chen was concerned the victim would take staff and customers with him, which could lead to the end of his business and loss of income for his 15 employees.
"That explains but does not excuse the offending," she said.
"People cannot go around threatening to chop people's finger's off every time an employee wants to spread their wings elsewhere."
Justice McWilliam also said Chen, who the judge said made a "serious misstep", was "a very low risk of reoffending".
He is set to enter into a 18-month good behaviour order from Friday.
