Man accused of alleged Longford arson attack denied bail

The man alleged to have started the July 28 fire in Grafton Court, Longford town, which caused millions of euro of damage, jumped 16 feet from the second story of a building when officers called to his house in Mullingar, running through gardens in his underwear before being caught by Gardaí.

Guo Zhong Chen (55) of 9 Belvedere Terrace, Mullingar, Westmeath appeared before a special sitting of Longford District Court on Friday, August 9 at 5.45pm.

Mr Chen, represented in proceedings by solicitor Fiona Baxter, was denied bail following a 40 minute bail application before Judge Deirdre Gearty.

Inspector Declan McGlynn said at the outset that the State were “strenuously objecting” to the bail application.

During the hearing Garda Shane O'Connor guided the judge through extensive CCTV footage that tracked a car driven by the defendant from Mullingar to Longford.

Also read: “It will be quite a while before we can get up and running again" Longford business owners react to fire

The footage then tracked a man wearing a white hoodie walk from Bannon Terrace in Longford, where the car driven by the defendant was parked, to Grafton Court.

The hooded man was shown pushing a shopping trolley full of material toward the Grafton Court area. Later the hooded man is seen running away from Grafton Court with flames flickering in the background.

Garda O'Connor stated that the investigation had taken over 50 statements and viewed over 100 hours of CCTV footage. He said it was the State's belief that the fire was deliberately started to scupper a new business venture of Mr Chen's ex-partner's brother.

Also read: Longford business community pulls together in wake of fire

The witness agreed with Ms Baxter that the CCTV was not a continuous shot of the hooded man, however when Inspector McGlynn asked Garda O'Connor if he was sure the man being charged was the suspect he replied: “Absolutely judge.”

Earlier in the hearing the court was told Mr Chen's reply when charged was: “They are going to blame all those offensives on me.”

Giving details of the interview with the accused Garda O’Connor stated Mr Chen accepted that although he resides in Mullingar he was in Longford town at various locations in his black Ford Cmax car on the night of the fire.

Garda O'Connor told the court that he believed that although Mr Chen lived in the state since 2000 he posed a significant flight risk.

WATCH | Dramatic footage emerges of fire that engulfed Longford town overnight

Inspector McGlynn put forward the State's contention that there were no bail conditions to satisfy the prosecution. He pointed out the defendant tried to evade Gardaí when initially arrested by jumping from a second floor window and running through a garden in his underwear.

Ms Baxter outlined her client's strong links to the local community in Mullingar, where he operates a bubble tea business, and put forward that the State had not proven Mr Chen was likely to commit further offences while on bail.

In refusing bail Judge Gearty said she believed the defendant did pose a flight risk and remanded him in custody to appear before Mullingar District Court on Monday via video link.

Also read: Longford property owner reflects on fire that ripped through his Grafton Court property on Sunday morning