Internet Shop Owner Sentenced To Life In Prison

An internet and call shop owner, who kicked a customer to death over a 70c phone call, has been sentenced to life in prison.

36-year-old Zhen Dong Zhao had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Noel Fegan (40) on May 20th, 2011. However, he admitted kicking the father of two outside his shop, e-Times, on Wellington Quay.

Mr Fegan, a reformed drug addict had gone into the shop to phone his 11-year-old daughter after receiving a “call me” text.

Mr Fegans daughter testified through a statement that she spoke to her father for a minute and a half.

After using the phone Mr Fegan had said he couldn’t get through, but Zhao showed him the 70c total on the phone system computer screen. Witnesses said he offered between 10 and 40 cent.

When Mr Fegan left the shop Zhao followed him outside and kicked him a number of times in the back, head and neck. Mr Fegan died soon afterwards of bleeding to the brain.

An autopsy found that arteries in Mr Fegan’s neck had been torn due to blunt force trauma. His taking of anticoagulant medicine for a pulmonary embolism was a contributory factor in his death.

Following a 12-day trial, the jury of eight men and four women took just under 10 hours over 2½ days to reach a guilty verdict by a 10 to two majority.

It was the prosecution’s case that Zhao was the aggressor and that Mr Fegan had posed no threat to him. The State described Mr Fegan as defenceless when he was on the ground outside.

(H)