Gardaí in Limerick want to question a man of Chinese descent who fled from a murder scene in the village of Patrickswell on Tuesday night. A Galway-based restauranteur was fatally stabbed in a fight which took place between eight men at the Tao Tao Chinese restaurant in the Co Limerick village at about 11.30 p.m.
The Tao Tao restaurant had been closed for about 30 minutes when four men, three of whom were from Wexford and one from Galway, called to the premises.
The restaurant is run by Mr Edmund Chu and his partner, Ms Katie Mie-Yee Lam.
A scuffle broke out at the premises and at least two men received stab wounds, one fatally. The second man was arrested at lunchtime yesterday after he was discharged from the Mid-West Regional Hospital. Five other men who had been arrested were released without charge at 4 p.m. A file is being prepared for the DPP.
Another man, a member of staff who is believed to have received some injuries, is missing. A witness said that the man drove off in his car just as the gardaí were arriving.
A four-man Garda forensics team examined the restaurant foyer, where a blood-stained napkin and shirt could be seen on the floor. They also examined the flat in the village where the missing man lives. The surrounding area was also searched by gardaí, who are believed to have been looking for the murder weapon.
There has been speculation that the case is related to an unpaid debt associated with a debenture system whereby a sum of money is paid to an employer when a staff member moves to a new premises. One member of the local Chinese community predicted that there would be further trouble following the murder.
The man who died was named unofficially last night as Mr Anthony Tsang, who works in a Chinese restaurant in Salthill, Galway.
A barman at the Dark Horse pub beside the restaurant said that he was called to the scene by Ms Lam and saw the murder victim being given the kiss of life. The man was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital shortly before midnight.
Supt Willie Keane, of Roxboro Garda station, said that the investigation was in its early stages and he did not want to comment further for operational reasons.
The local community was shocked at the news. Ms Demelza Morrissey, who runs a clothing shop across the street from the Tao Tao, said that the restaurant had become a popular place since being opened by the Chinese couple last summer.
"It is very sad to see it happen to them, because they are lovely people", Ms Morrissey said. "It is very seldom that anything like this would happen in the village. It is a quiet and respectable community."