Four young Vietnamese catering workers, including three brothers, appeared at a special sitting of the Limerick District Court last night following a fracas on William St early yesterday in which two men received knife injuries. All four were remanded in custody by Judge Michael Reilly to Limerick City Court on Friday.
Inspt Jerry Mahon said that gardai came on a major disturbance and found four men in possession of knives and two injured men in a nearby restaurant. One of the injured was removed to hospital with serious knife wounds. Inspt Mahon said three of the accused were in the country less than 24 hours. One was in Limerick since December 9th.
Mr Pat Barriscale, solicitor for the defendants, said they were on a few days' visit and got caught up in an incident which got out of control. They had British passports, return tickets to London and had money for bail. One of them was working in a Chinese restaurant in Limerick.
The judge said he had no option but to remand the defendants in custody as they might not appear for trial. The defendants were charged with assaulting Edmund Chu, Chia Him Siam and Tak Leun Wong and causing them grievous bodily harm, and with possession of knives. They were: Chi-Cuong Huynh (30), Tiber Gardens, Copenhagen St, King's Cross, London; Hung Huynh (26), same address, Chi-Tan Huynh (20), Queensbridge Court, Hackney, London; and U-Van Tran (26) Newcastle Rd, Tottenham, London.
One of the injured, a Malaysian, was remanded in custody on a charge under the Aliens Act. Garda Martin Nally told the court that Chia Him Siam (32), with an address at Mallow Street, Limerick, had failed to register under the Act.