Man jailed for Longford arson attack that caused €3.5 million worth of damage to 19 businesses
Judge Kenneth Connolly at Longford Circuit Court said the actions of Guo Zhong Chen were premeditated and it was a crime of spite and revenge.
A Chinese national who pleaded guilty to arson that caused €3.5 million in damages at Grafton Court in Longford town has been handed a 10.5 years prison sentence with the final 18 months suspended.
Sentencing Guo Zhong Chen (55), of 9 Belvedere Terrace, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, at Longford Circuit Court, Judge Kenneth Connolly said the incident at 1.30am on July 28, 2024 was premeditated and Chen was effecting revenge and was scornful when he carried out the arson attack.
The Chinese national appeared in court today for the second part of his sentencing hearing two months after initial victim impact statements from some of the affected victims were heard in court.
The majority of the affected 19 business owners completed victim impact statements with some read into court in May and a further victim impact statement today.
During a preliminary sentencing hearing in May, Garda Shane O’Connor said gardaí were aware Grafton Court and the scene was a residential area and they began to knock on doors and once the alarm was raised fire brigade units from Longford, Lanesboro, Ballymahon and Edgeworthstown attended the scene and they tackled the blaze until 6am.
Garda O’Connor said he spoke with the proprietors of the Oyama Sushi Japanese Restaurant Heidi Zhou and her husband Simon Wang as this was the starting point and origin of the fire.
The court heard Mr Chen had been in a business partnership with Souffrance Wang and she disclosed to gardaí during the course of the investigation that she began living with Guo Zhong Chen in October 2022.
They entered into a business agreement for a Mullingar-based business called Bubble Tea & Smile Sushi Bar.
Garda O'Connor stated there were 'tensions rising' between the pair and on the 1st of July 2024 Souffrance Wang moved out of the address she was living in with the defendant and she moved into her brother Simon's house in Mullingar.
The court heard Mr Chen and Ms Wang had an argument at the Tesco car park in Longford on July 25 and less than three days later in a fit of ‘anger’ and 'jealousy' the arson attack occurred.
Mr Chen set fire to bins in a gated laneway beside the Oyama Sushi Japanese Restaurant, but it quickly spread through a grease extraction fan.
A gas cannister was also found at the scene, which the defendant said he had been unaware of, and which investigators believe acted as an accelerant.
During sentencing and finalisation of the case on Tuesday, Judge Connolly praised the painstaking efforts by Garda O'Connor and his colleagues to trace the steps of the defendant before he carried out the crime.
He set a headline sentence of 14 years before he began considering the mitigating circumstances and factors.
"It is entirely obvious to me this was a planned and precisely executed and efficient crime.
"It was well conceived. Mr Chen had the good sense to wear gloves and thereafter after leaving the fire he discarded the gloves along with the cigarette lighter that he had used to light the blaze.
"Again, in what was an excellent Garda investigation these items were recovered and associated with Mr Chen."
Judge Connolly said after the defendant is seen running from the scene he was observed returning to his distantly parked vehicle and taking an off the beaten path route back to his home in Mullingar.
"Mr Chen was ultimately arrested and he was interviewed by gardaí and the narrative that he ultimately and subsequently have to the probation officer and indeed the psychologist followed a similar pattern to the answers to gardaí on investigative questioning where he was obtuse and unyielding in the face of very substantial evidence against him."
Judge Connolly said thankfully three to four people in the Grafton Court area were removed from the building and there was no loss of life and they did not suffer any physical injuries.
"I should say that although while it was accepted by the court that one particular premises was the object target of the arson attack such was Mr Chen's abandon that effectively the entire building was destroyed or at least very significantly damaged."
There were a total 19 business premises operating in the complex and Judge Connolly has read and heard victim impact statements from 11 of the business owners.
Judge Connolly said it was accepted by the Grafton Court complex had no residential aspect to it and that was important matter to be considered, but he stated the level of culpability was 'very high indeed'.
"I must consider the gravity of the offending, I must consider the offending itself in the context of the offender.
"I must consider the level of culpability and I must consider the affects this offending has had on the victims, I must consider post attitude of the victims.
"There was less malice than in a domestic, residential situation where one intentionally sets fire to a house knowing that there are occupants in it.
"But this particular crime is still a crime in my mind of spite and revenge given the context that we know informed it.
"It was planned , it was organised and it was executed to an exacting degree and I believe Mr Chen knew exactly what he was doing and why, and accordingly the level of moral culpability, in my mind, must be considered very high indeed."
Senior Counsel Michael O'Higgins, defending, said his client had an extremely difficult upbringing and he was forced into physical work by his family and 'child labour' when he was just four years of age due to their challenging circumstances.
The court also heard prior to the offence and going into custody Mr Chen had been sending €500 back every month to his wife and child who are living in China.
"You have a 57 year-old person who has had an extremely difficult upbringing, who has a whole host of good deeds established by him over a lengthy period of life
"[He is a man] who stepped outside the remit of being a hardworking person who provided with good grace and good heart for people who were in a much less advantageous position than he was.
"He committed a truly appalling act, which caused havoc, has caused huge difficulty for a very wide range of people who themselves were hardworking and carrying the stresses and strains that go with running a business and it reduced their ambitions and achievements to ashes and caused them to rebuild again from the ground up."
The court heard the defendant had three sets of previous convictions for minor road traffic offences
He will also be placed on a probation supervision bond for 18 months after his release and he has been directed not to make any unsolicited contact with his the injured parties, his former business party and her brother.
Victim impact statements
In May, Pauline Belton, the owner of Grafters Hair Company, which was running for 24 years in the area before being ‘destroyed’ was one of 11 business owners who provided a victim impact statement.
She told the court: “I am a married woman, now a widow, living in Co Longford and the mother of three adult children, Simon, Keith and Warren.
“I make this victim impact statement to describe the profound, ongoing impact of a malicious fire that destroyed my hair salon business, along with the adjoining buildings.
“I had operated my business from this same premises continuously for 24 years, during which time I built up a successful, reputable and well-respected salon that was deeply rooted in the local community.
“The salon was a busy workplace with 15 employees and widely known as a place of trust, professional and connection within the town.
“This crime occurred after the death of my husband, George, whose passing had already left me as the sole breadwinner for my family.
“As a result of this malicious act, I was suddenly denied my only reliable and essential source of income at a time of extreme personal vulnerability.
“Although my premises was not specifically targeted, the salon was completely destroyed and it has not been possible for me to rebuild or restart my business, due to my financial position, meaning I am permanently unable to return to work that supported me, my family and my employees.
“I am now in a position of ongoing financial weakness, due to unresolved claims.
“Redundancy payments arising directly from this malicious fire were enacted for my staff, and the financial burden associated with these obligations has further weakened my position, leaving me with prolonged uncertainty, stress and fear about my future, as I genuinely do not know what the future holds for me financially.
“The weeks and months following the fire were exceptionally distressing, as I carried the heavy responsibility of being an employer to 15 staff, while simultaneously trying to cope with grief, shock and the collapse of my own financial security.”