Murder trial witness recalls assault

A man who survived an assault which killed his friend said the two accused called them "f***ing Chinese" and beat him so his eyes "were covered in blood", the trial of two Dublin men accused of murder and of causing harm heard today at the Central Criminal Court.

James Harmer, aged 27, of the Abbey Hostel, Bachelors Walk, Dublin, and Noel O'Flaherty, aged 34, of McCormack Gardens, Baldoyle, Dublin, have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ly Minh Luong, aged 50 at Temple Bar, Dublin on August 19, 2002.

The two have also pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm to Wei Dong, aged 36, at Temple Bar, Dublin on August 16, 2002.

Opening the case for prosecution, Mr Tom O'Connell SC told the court the crime allegedly occurred at the back of the Central Bank in Dublin's city centre at the junction of Fownes St Upper at the early hours of August 16.

"These two men were assaulted and attacked by James Harmer and Noel O'Flaherty. As a consequence of the assault and attack, one of them died," Mr O'Connell said.

The assault on the deceased included "punches and kicking", the court heard.

"Mr Dong got a bloodied face in this encounter," he said, addressing the jury.

The court will hear evidence which "identifies the accused as the assailants by the fact that traces of the DNA of Mr Dong, namely blood, were found on their clothing", Mr O'Connell said.

Outlining the facts in the case, Mr O'Connell said that the two accused were familiar with each other, having worked together as doormen at pubs.

On the night of the attack, Harmer and O'Flaherty were drinking together. "They will say in their admission that while they were tipsy, they were not drunk," Mr O'Connell said. The accused had told gardaí they drank "six or seven pints".

The deceased, who is Vietnamese-Chinese, and Mr Dong, a Chinese man, were friends. Mr Dong had come to Ireland in 1999 on a student visa and worked at the dead man's Chinese take away in Ballymun until January 2001.

On the night in question, the two friends had been socialising with other Chinese at Mr Dong's flat and had then gone on to Club M in the city centre.

Around 2am, Mr Dong followed the deceased out of the club to urge him to take a taxi instead of driving home in his jeep. He said they had been drinking "beer and brandy" that night.

Both accused admitted "hitting or punching" the men, said Mr O'Connell.

Harmer allegedly kicked one of the men, after which O'Flaherty "continued his belligerent and aggressive involvement with the two Chinese men", the court heard.

Mr Luong was unconscious when an ambulance arrived at the scene. He died of head injuries at St James's Hospital three days later on August 19.

Through an interpreter, Mr Dong told the court about the events after the two left the nightclub.

"I wanted to send him in a taxi," he said. "At that time the two accused insulted us verbally."

"What was said?" Mr O'Connell asked.

"They said 'f***ing Chinese'," Mr Dong replied. "Then they came to us and they beat us."

Mr Dong described the attack on him. "They punched me to the face and the body. My eyes were covered in blood, I couldn't see anything. I got a kick in the chest and fell to the ground."

He confirmed that "they" meant the two accused.

Mr Dong suffered injuries to the face: "My left eye and right eye move different," he said. "The eyesight in the left is not as good. And the eyeball has sunk," he added.

"Did you bleed?" Mr O'Connell asked.

"My face was covered in blood from my nose, my mouth and my eyes," he said.

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul Butler and a jury of three women and nine men.