Four Chinese men who claimed they were members of a triad gang have been jailed by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for assaulting three Chinese students and are to be deported within weeks.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne was told they claimed to be members of a triad gang to instil fear in victims they falsely detained and demanded money from.
Gio Jia (23), Liu Xing (23) and Xu Bo Wen (23), with an address at The Cobbles, East Essex Street, Dublin, were jailed for 2½ years and Sun Zhi (18), with an address at Kenilworth Road, Rathmines, was jailed for 12 months.
Jia, Xing and Bo Wen pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Jianing Zhang on April 13th, 2001, demanding money with menaces from Wei Guo Dong on April 20th, 2001, and restricting the personal liberty of Wu Guang Hao on April 25th, 2001. Zhi admitted assault causing harm to Mr Hao.
Det Sgt Michael Cryan told Mr Brendan Grehan BL, prosecuting, that deportation orders for the first three had been signed and an order was being prepared for Zhi.
Det Sgt Cryan said they claimed to be members of the Hong Kongbased triad organisation, Wo Shing Wo, to frighten the victims, but the gardaí had no evidence to back up this.
Det Sgt Cryan said Mr Zhang had moved into the East Essex Street flat where Jia, Xing and Wen resided along with a number of other Chinese nationals in early April 2001. They made Mr Zhang join a gang they had formed but he later requested to leave and when he called back to the flat on April 13th to collect his personal items they refused to let him leave.
Det Sgt Cryan said they forced him to kneel on the floor and he was viciously kicked and punched in the head and back.
The same three and a woman approached Mr Dong at the GPO and escorted him to their flat where they demanded money. He was beaten by up to eight Chinese men and only escaped after a fivehour ordeal. He notified gardaí.
Det Sgt Cryan said that gardaí obtained a search warrant and forced their way into the flat. They found 13 people there - 11 men and two women. Xing was found hiding under a bed and Mr Hao was crouching in a corner with his head heavily bandaged. He had been badly assaulted in the flat the night before after seven Chinese men had taken him from his workplace on Leeson Street.
Det Sgt Cryan said the background to that incident related to three of the defendants getting false letters from their English language schools to confirm that they had attended 80 per cent of their classes in order to have their stays in Ireland extended. Mr Hao said he knew two men who could prepare such letters and they paid €3,600 for them. The two absconded with the money and Jia, Xing and Wen sought retribution from Mr Hao.
The detective sergeant said the three victims had made good recoveries but were reluctant to come to court to give evidence.
Judge Dunne said that the fact that the four were to be deported had no bearing on her job. She had to deal with the criminal aspect and recognised that the experience of the injured parties was extremely upsetting and traumatic.
Gardai recovered €2,775, $4,000 and 1,000 woo (approximately) from the flat. Judge Dunne ordered that it be divided equally among the three victims.