An inquest into the death of a Chinese man who received serious head injuries in an incident in Dublin last week was opened and adjourned yesterday.
Mr Zhao Liu Tao (30), from Shenyang City in the Liaoning province of China, died at Beaumont hospital last Friday. He did not regain consciousness following what was reported as a racist attack by a number of Irish youths at nearby Beaumont Grove the previous Monday.
No one has been charged but a 16-year-old youth has made a statement to the Garda.
Mr Zhao, who had been studying English here for about 10 months and was living in Dublin's north inner city, died as a result of a blow to the head, Dublin City Coroner's Court was told. A Garda investigation is ongoing and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The inquest was adjourned pending the outcome of that investigation.
The only brother of the dead man, Mr Zhao Liu Yang, and his cousin, Ms Song Ze Hui, attended the inquest.
Through an interpreter, the court heard that Mr Zhao formally identified the body of his brother.
Garda Insp John Dennedy applied for an adjournment of the inquest on the basis that the Garda inquiry into the alleged incident was not yet complete. A file would be forwarded to the DPP for his consideration.
Summarising the post-mortem findings, the assistant State pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, said Mr Zhao had died from blunt-force trauma to the head."The cause of that is not clear," she said.
The coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, said that how those injuries were inflicted remained to be determined when the Garda had concluded its investigation.
Insp Dennedy said it would be about three months before the Garda file had been completed and the DPP's directions had been sought.
The coroner adjourned the inquest to April 26th. He said it would not be necessary for the Zhao family to be present on that date as it would merely involve updating the court on the progress of the investigation.
Insp Dennedy said he had already given an undertaking to keep the family in China informed of all developments in the case and would contact them on a regular basis.
Dr Farrell said he wished to extend his personal, deepest sympathies and condolences to Mr Zhao's family and asked that these wishes be passed on to the family in China.
Speaking to the media through his interpreter, Mr Zhao Liu Yang said his parents had been so shocked by the news of their son's death they had been taken to hospital. He was so far satisfied with the Garda investigation into the death, but had some problems because of the language barrier, he indicated.
Mr Zhao was not sure whether his family would have to pay the cost of his trip to Ireland. He believed there would be assistance from the Irish authorities and from the Chinese Embassy.