A man accused of involvement in a racially motivated burglary allegedly stole the victim's British passport and told him "What are you doing in our country?", a court has heard.
William McKay (28) is charged with burglary at a house in Island Street in east Belfast, as well as attempted robbery of a £400 mobile phone and possessing a weapon, namely a metal bar, on Newcastle Street on October 6.
As well as the passport, other items stolen were a birth certificate, £270 in cash, a laptop, mail and personal papers.
The charges are understood to relate to an incident where a house was ransacked, daubed with paint, furniture was slashed and two Sudanese man were later attacked with iron bars by men who returned to the property.
Giving evidence to Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday, a police officer objected to McKay's release on bail because "there's a strong case for interference of victims and witnesses".
Describing him as a man with "racial tendencies", the officer said the incident on October 6 was "racially motivated".
A defence solicitor for McKay, of Forthriver Road in north Belfast, said his client "isn't in any way racially inclined" and departed from his "no comment" stance at police interview to say he was "disgusted" when the racist remarks were put to him.
The lawyer told the court there was a bail address a "fair distance" away from east Belfast and claimed the case against McKay was "weak" as it involved only one, low quality photograph taken on a mobile phone.
However, District Judge Ken Nixon refused bail.
McKay is due to appear again via videolink on November 20.
