Man Charged With Committing Alleged Arson Attack In The Midlands Remanded In Custody

He is due to appear in court in September.

A man charged with committing an alleged arson attack, which resulted in the closure of 13 Longford businesses, affecting 60 jobs and causing in excess of €3m worth of structural damage, has been remanded in custody and is due to reappear in Longford District Court in September.

Guo Zhong Chen (55), of 9 Belvedere Terrace, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, appeared before a special sitting of Longford District Court on Friday, where Gardaí made “strenuous” objections to bail under O'Callaghan Rules and Section 2 of the Bail Act.

Detective Garda Shane O'Connor informed the court that he arrested Mr Chen and charged him on Friday afternoon under Section 2 (4) of the Criminal Damage Act 1991, which took place in the early hours of July 28.

When Mr Chen was cautioned, he replied: “They're going to blame all those offences on me.”

The court heard that the accused accepted he resides in Mullingar but, on the night in question, was in various locations in Longford town in his vehicle.

Gardaí viewed “hundreds of hours” of CCTV footage and have taken over 50 statements so far in their investigation.

CCTV played in court showed Mr Chen leaving Mullingar in his car, a black Ford SX-Max, passing through Rathowen and arriving in Longford, where he is captured in a number of locations, including Tashinny Lodge, where he removed a quantity of rubbish from his car, before driving off and ultimately parking on Bannon Terrace.

Further CCTV footage shows a man walking on Bannon Terrace shortly afterwards, putting on a light-coloured hoodie. Mr Chen denies this man was him.

This man, the court heard, was also seen in a number of locations leading up to the alleged arson, including back on Bannon Terrace, where footage showed him opening the passenger door of the Ford XS-Max.

He was also observed collecting a trolley from Tesco carpark and walking to Tashinny Lodge to fill the trolley with the discarded rubbish, before pushing the trolley through the archway into the Grafton Court.

After returning the trolley, the man is seen going back through the archway, where the glow of flames is captured on CCTV before the man is observed running away.

A final clip shown to the court showed the man in the hoodie discarding items over a wall on Bannon Terrace. Gardaí later recovered a glove and a cigarette lighter which, following forensic examination, returned a DNA profile that matched the accused.

Det Gda O’Connor stressed to the court that Gardaí were objecting to bail on the basis that Mr Chen has “no ties to the jurisdiction”, as his wife and stepchildren currently reside in China.

Upon lawful execution of a search warrant at the accused's home, a ticket to China was discovered by Gardaí for August 13, so “it's our belief that he's a flight risk”, Det Gda O'Connor said.

He also told the court that on the morning of August 8, when Gardaí made themselves known at Mr Chen's home, the accused jumped 16 feet from a balcony in his underwear and attempted to flee through the gardens to evade arrest.

The alleged arson targeted the new sushi restaurant of Mr Chen's former partner's brother, and the court heard that the accused had made comments to suggest he'd make sure the new restaurant “would not last long”.

Gardaí also had concerns that Mr Chen would interfere with witnesses if admitted to bail.

Fortunately, due to the “swift action” of An Garda Síochána and the Longford Fire Service, there was “no loss of life” in the early hours of July 28.

However there has been considerable financial loss to businesses, as well as public expenditure of approximately €50,000 and in excess of €3m worth of structural damage, as well as extensive use of Garda resources to investigate the incident.

Gardaí were also concerned that, while a number of items of evidential value were recovered in a search of Mr Chen's property, some have not yet been recovered, which “could be destroyed if he's admitted to bail”.

Solicitor for the defence, Ms Fiona Baxter, said that, although Mr Chen accepted he was in Longford on the night in question, throughout the course of five Garda interviews “he absolutely denied” that he was the man in the light coloured hoodie and that he had any involvement in starting the fire.

Addressing Judge Deirdre Gearty, Inspector Declan McGlynn said that An Garda Síochána have taken “a very dedicated approach” to the investigation and stressed that Gardaí are not only dealing with the injured party, but the public at large.

He stressed that Mr Chen had jumped 16 feet from a balcony in his underwear to evade arrest.

“He's going to evade if he gets out of here and we're not wearing on that,” he said.

Judge Gearty, having heard the evidence, opted to refuse bail due to the degree of the seriousness of the offence, the strength of the evidence and because “I consider him to be a flight risk”.

When Mr Chen reappeared at Mullingar District Court via video link on Monday morning, he was further remanded to Longford District Court on September 3. Judge Michael Connellan also directed that medical and psychological treatment be provided as necessary while Mr Chen is in custody.