AN Antrim man jailed for offences connected to the murder of Chinese restaurateur Nelson Cheung has been given a concurrent two-year term for intimidating his own brother.
Prosecutor Michael Chambers told Antrim Crown Court that Gary Thompson (35) posted on Facebook a statement his older brother David made to police.
A defence lawyer said it was not the 'classic case' of intimidation, but one borne from a dispute between the siblings in which his client "effectively wanted to punish his brother".
Judge Desmond Marrinan said whereas the law would normally "come down with a heavy hand" on those intimidating witnesses, he accepted the case had "a rather unusual scenario".
Thompson, originally from Cunningham Way in Antrim but who had moved to Felden Avenue in Newtownabbey when he was sentenced in the Cheung case in June, admitted doing an act "which would harm or was intended to harm" his brother in February this year.
Mr Chambers told the court that while awaiting trial with two others, originally for Mr Cheung's murder in January 2015, Gary Thompson learned that his brother David, himself a convicted murderer, had made a statement to police.
He said it was initially planned to use the statement at trial, but the murder charge was dropped and Thompson pleaded guilty to offences including stealing the purse of Mr Cheung's wife Winnie after his murder.
Because of this it was decided that the statement of David Thompson, who served 15 years of a life term for the murder of Antrim man Ryan Neill on St Patrick's Day 2000, would no longer be used during proceedings.
However, Mr Chambers said despite knowing this, Gary Thompson posted his brother's police statement on social media, with the words: "Keep talking to police - lol - why don't you come round for once... Ha Ha, don't want to go to jail".
The lawyer said David Thompson, who has received two threats believed to be from loyalist paramilitaries, voiced his concern to police that "paramilitaries would target him as a tout".
Gary Thompson's defence lawyer said the siblings had "fallen out" and his client had wanted to get back at his brother for talking to police, but he now "accepts that he did something which he should not have done in temper".
