A celebrity Sydney dentist has been shot dead by police after allegedly breaking into a mother-of-three’s apartment, attacking her and lunging at officers with a knife in a dramatic confrontation in Potts Point.
Chloe Paul was working from home on Tuesday when Dr Steven Lin, 41, allegedly forced his way into her unit and demanded money.
Family members say Ms Paul was pinned to the ground and beaten during the terrifying ordeal, but managed to fight back – drawing on her background in boxing – before calling police.
Officers arrived and confronted Dr Lin inside the apartment building. NSW Police said the 41-year-old lunged at them with a knife, prompting the deployment of a Taser. When the Taser proved “ineffective”, police fired a single round. Dr Lin died at the scene.
It is understood police are investigating whether drugs played a role in the incident.
Dr Lin allegedly also assaulted one of Ms Paul’s neighbours in the building’s shared laundry shortly before the fatal confrontation.
Ms Paul underwent surgery for a broken nose on Wednesday and is recovering with the support of family.
Once regarded as a world-renowned dental nutritionist, Dr Lin had built a significant public profile. He previously owned two successful dental practices on the NSW Central Coast and authored the best-selling book The Dental Diet.
His website described him as a “passionate preventive, whole health advocate” focused on understanding dental disease through nutritional principles, and argued that crooked teeth and rising orthodontic intervention were diet-based problems requiring public health reform.
However, in recent years Dr Lin’s life had reportedly unravelled. Friends have claimed he struggled with ice addiction following the breakdown of his marriage and revelations that he had fathered a child in secret.
His most recent social media post, shared on February 23, featured a video of a US man arguing that all vaccines should be avoided for children. “Just needs to be said,” Dr Lin captioned the clip.
Days before his death, Dr Lin had appeared before Wollongong Local Court charged over allegations he choked and assaulted a sex worker and stole $2000 from her in March 2025. The charges were dismissed after the complainant failed to appear in court.
The court was told that at the time of the alleged incident, Dr Lin had recorded four breaches of bail, two assault matters and two choking-related offences. Court documents also alleged multiple breaches of apprehended violence orders, as well as stalk/intimidate offences, and described him as having shown violent behaviour towards women and disregard for court-imposed conditions.
Police investigations into Tuesday’s fatal shooting are continuing.
Images: Nine News
