The newspaper Scotsman reports (by Augus Howarth):

A YOUTH who fatally attacked a Chinese asylum seeker and then robbed him as he lay unconscious was yesterday jailed for at least 17 years.

A judge branded Paul Brown’s expressions of remorse as “hollow” as he was given a life sentence for murdering Wei Wang.

He died 12 days after being found badly beaten outside flats in the Sighthill area of Glasgow on 25 July last year.

Mr Wei, 41, is understood to have been a railway worker in China who sought asylum in Britain in 2003.

Brown, 20, was convicted earlier this month by a High Court jury after co-accused Mark Kerr, 18, gave evidence against him.

Brown struck Mr Wei on the head with a bottle, rifled through his pockets and robbed him of his wallet.

Sentencing him at the High Court in Paisley yesterday, Lord Hardie said: “The victim sought asylum in this country and no doubt expected to be safe here from the dangers he faced in his own country. He did not deserve to be attacked on his way home.

“The evidence clearly indicated an unmotivated attack with a bottle on a stranger in a public street.

“Not content with striking him on the head and knocking him to the ground, you then went through his pockets as he lay unconscious and robbed him.

“You had no remorse whatsoever. If you had any concern for his health you would have taken steps to summon help, even anonymously. You were more concerned with your own personal gain.”

Kerr, from Balford, Manchester, admitted to reduced charges before the trial in exchange for testifying for the Crown.

He was ordered to be detained for four years and six months but will remain on licence for two years beyond that. A social work report found he had a “high risk of re-offending and poses a risk of harm to the community”, the court heard.

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