A murder investigation was under way last night after the death in hospital of a 22-year-old Chinese man who sustained severe head injuries when he was attacked at a party.
Mr Chen Li Ming, who lived in Bray, Co Wicklow, was assaulted in south Dublin early on Wednesday morning.
It is believed he became involved in a fracas outside a party hosted by a Chinese national somewhere in Dún Laoghaire.
He was found, bleeding and babbling in broken English, in the doorway of a house in Captain's Lane, Crumlin, at around 5 a.m.
Before lapsing into unconsciousness, he said he was from Bray and that a taxi had brought him from a party in Dún Laoghaire.
Detectives have urged taxi drivers in the area at the time to come forward.
Members of the Chinese community who witnessed the assault have also been asked to contact gardaí.
Mr Ming died at Beaumont Hospital shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday. He had suffered permanent brain damage and was attached to a life support machine.
The State pathologist, Dr John Harbison, will conduct a post-mortem this morning.
Efforts are under way to contact Mr Ming's family in China to make funeral arrangements. He was identified from a student card found in his wallet.
Mr Ming lived at Ryecroft, Bray for a number of months and attended an English language college in the town.
The officer leading the investigation, Supt John Manley, said the evidence of the taxi-driver who brought Mr Ming to Crumlin could prove crucial.
He said: "Based on what the victim said before he lost consciousness, we believe this driver picked him up after he was attacked and drove him to Crumlin. It is vital that he comes forward."
"Because we have very little evidence to go on, we are relying on witnesses to contact us."
Mr Ming had sustained multiple injuries to the head but it remains unclear if the had been struck with a weapon, Supt Manley said.
Officers have interviewed dozens of Chinese nationals since Thursday but their inquiries have drawn a blank.
The killing follows a spate of attacks on Chinese people in the capital.
In August, Mr Leong Ly Min (50), a Chinese-Vietnamese national resident in Ireland since the late 1970s, died from injuries sustained in an assault in Temple Bar. Two men from Dublin were later arrested and charged.
In July, one man was killed and two were seriously injured in a pitched battle between rival factions on O'Connell Street.
In January, a young Chinese student was killed in what gardaí described as a racially motivated attack.
Last year, a young Chinese couple were strangled at their apartment at Blackhall Square, Dublin. It is believed they were the victims of a professional assassin and that a contract had been taken out on their lives.
The violence has also spread beyond the capital. In February, a Chinese restaurant owner was killed in Patrickswell, Limerick.