A restaurant owner has pleaded guilty to an incident of arson which caused €3 million worth of damage to a shopping street in Longford town last year.
Guo Zhong Chen (56), a Chinese national with an address at Belvedere Terrace, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Longford Circuit Court on Tuesday.
The plea was entered to count two on the indictment, arson contrary to section 2 (1) and 2 (4) of the Criminal Damage Act 1991, on a full-facts basis. A count of criminal damage will be taken into consideration when Chen is sentenced on February 3rd next.
The incident occurred on July 28th, 2024, in the Grafton Court Complex in Longford town. The fire forced the closure of more than a dozen businesses and caused €3 million worth of damage.
READ MORE
The criminal damage charge involved a Land Rover at Townparks, Longford, on July 7th, 2024.
Luke O’Higgins, for Chen, submitted that the guilty plea was made soon after the book of evidence was translated to Mandarin and subsequently translated to an audio format due to his client’s literacy difficulties.
The judge said the plea was “very welcome”, noting that three weeks would have been set aside for a trial.
“For the purpose of sentence, it’s not at all lost on me how long this matter would have taken had it gone to trial,” he said.
A report furnished to the court stated that Chen had been “an enhanced prisoner” since last October and his general behaviour in prison had been “exceptional”.
He is currently working in the prison’s main kitchen and his restaurant experience allows him to train others to work in the canteen, the court heard.
The judge directed a probation report and an updated governor’s report, but said he would not be seeking an assessment for suitability for community service due to the severity of the damage involved in the case.
“It is a very significant matter,” he said.
