A 40-year-old man who kicked another man to death following a row over a 70c phone call five years ago told gardaí that by taking a life he had destroyed his own, the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Zhen Dong Zhao, of Jervis Street in Dublin, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 40-year-old Noel Fegan in a Dublin city centre internet café in May 2011.
The café manager was originally convicted of murder but the verdict was overturned on appeal.
At the Circuit Criminal Court Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy remanded Dong Zhao in custody to be sentenced later this month.
The court heard that at around 3.50pm on Friday 20 May 2011, father-of-two Noel Fegan and his friend went into the e-Times internet café to ring his daughter.
He was worried after he had received a "call me" text from his teenage daughter and had no credit on his own phone.
A row broke out between Dong Zhao and Mr Fegan over whether or not he had got through on the phone and owed 70c.
The café manager admitted chasing and attacking Mr Fegan, kicking him repeatedly in the body, head and neck. Mr Fegan died a short time later.
Dong Zhao later told gardaí he was sorry for what he had done, and said he could not face his victim's family.
"He lost his life", he said, "and I destroyed mine".
The court heard today that Dong Zhao and his wife of three weeks divorced after he was sentenced to life in prison in 2012, after being originally convicted of murder.
The Central Criminal Court was told that the attack which killed Mr Fegan lasted between seven and ten seconds.
Mr Justice McCarthy adjourned the case to consider the admissibility of testimonials and character references on Dong Zhao's behalf.
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