By Alan Erwin

Copyright newsletter

Prosecutors claimed Nicholas Yeung, 36, produced the blade during a row over demands for a refund at the apartment he had leased in the south of the city. The defendant insists he only acted to defend a woman who alleged she had been robbed and raped by another man. Yeung, a food wholesaler from Springfield Avenue in Leeds, was refused bail on disputed charges of brothel keeping, controlling prostitution, and possessing an offensive weapon – namely a meat cleaver – with intent to commit grievous bodily harm. Crown counsel Gosia Hackiewicz said police attended the flat at Utility Street following reports of sexual assault on July 30 this year. The defendant was still at the scene, along with a Chinese woman and an Iranian man she claimed had attacked her while she was carrying out massage work, the court heard. Yeung said he was a good friend of the woman’s, having met on social media a week earlier, but did not know her first name. “Police found a large number of condoms, lingerie, lubricants and baby wipes which led them to believe the apartment had been booked to use as a brothel,” Ms Hackiewicz submitted. Checks carried out on mobile phone numbers linked to the defendant were associated with hundreds of advertisements on a website used for sexual services, according to the prosecutor. She also told court a video recording showed Yeung and the other man shouting and brandishing large knives at each other during a stand-off outside the flat. “The argument centres around payment for services with the male customer demanding a £40 refund out of a total of £80 payment he had made to the Chinese female for a massage,” Ms Hackiewicz said. “It would appear that this argument went on for several hours.” During further investigations at the scene a day later, police discovered a second Chinese woman in the back of a van linked to Yeung. “She had seemingly been there all night, having nowhere else to go,” counsel said. “The van contained some foodstuffs, boxes of condoms, lubricant, lingerie and also a mattress.” Three mobile phones, more than £1,000 in cash, a passport and bank cards associated with Yeung were also recovered from the vehicle. Ms Hackiewicz added: “Police believe he brought the two Chinese females from England to Northern Ireland and arranged accommodation in Belfast to be used for providing sexual services.” Yeung denies any involvement in controlling prostitution or brothel keeping, insisting he was only in Northern Ireland on a business trip for his dried food company. He maintained that he only went to the apartment after receiving a call from one of the women seeking his help. Mr Justice McLaughlin also heard detectives are continuing to investigate the customer on suspicion of rape, paying for sexual offences, robbery and possession of an offensive weapon. Yeung’s barrister, Declan Quinn, argued that he had acted in the defence of his friend. “There was some sort of interaction between this Iranian male and the Chinese female about requesting money back for massage services,” Mr Quinn said. “Neither the lady in the house nor the lady in the van have said they were either prostitutes or being controlled by the defendant.” Denying bail, however, the judge rejected suggestions that Yeung could be allowed to live in the north of England. He stated: “There is a flight risk in light of potential connection to others involved in this form of organised criminality.”