Morris tribunal:John White, a former Garda detective sergeant, has said that a man told him he was advised by his solicitor to withdraw a complaint of assault against Raphoe publican Frank McBrearty jnr.
Castlederg roofing contractor Edmund Moss had alleged that he was assaulted at the nightclub belonging to Frank McBrearty snr in the early hours of December 30th, 1996.
However, he visited Raphoe Garda station on January 21st, 1997 and told gardaí he wished to withdraw his complaint.
The tribunal is examining allegations that the subsequent arrest and prosecution of Mr McBrearty jnr was part of a campaign of Garda harassment.
Mr McBrearty jnr and two other men were later acquitted of related charges in Letterkenny Circuit Court.
Mr Moss had reached a private settlement of any civil action arising out of the alleged incident a week before he went to the Garda station to withdraw his complaint, when Mr McBrearty snr paid him stg£10,000, the tribunal has heard.
A few days later Mr Moss's solicitor John Fahy wrote to gardaí saying Mr Moss instructed them to formally withdraw his complaint.
"Mr Moss came into the station saying that his solicitor told him because the money was paid he now had to withdraw the statement that he made to the gardaí," Mr White told the tribunal.
However Mr Moss's barrister, Des Dockery, said this was "a concoction" and the evidence of Mr Moss and Mr Fahy was that Mr Moss was not acting on Mr Fahy's instructions.
"He was clearly saying, he said 'Look sergeant, I don't want to drop this, my solicitor told me to drop it, to withdraw it'," Mr White told the tribunal. "It was apart from the money, he had a feeling that he was hard done by.
"Now that was different totally to the contents of Mr Fahy's letter and I had to deal with both of them, and the person in front of me was Mr Moss, not Mr Fahy."
Mr White said that Mr McBrearty jnr was "like a big spoiled brat and worse" and he stood by his comment to that effect in a video of Mr McBrearty taken during his arrest.
In a closing submission to the tribunal, solicitor Conor Connelly, on behalf of former garda John O'Dowd, who interviewed Mr McBrearty during his arrest along with Det Sgt White, said that Mr McBrearty jnr had admitted assaulting himself, and had walked out before he could be cross-examined on the allegations he had made relating to his arrest relating to the sub-module.
Mr Connelly said Mr McBrearty jnr's walkout earlier this year was "another well-choreographed action on his part designed to abuse the process in which we are engaged and to avoid the possibility of his half-truths and false testimony being laid bare before the tribunal."
The tribunal resumes on June 12th.