Stade, Germany  - Cracking a wall of silence, an accused man named on Thursday the gunman who shot dead seven Asians during a horrific armed robbery at a Chinese-cuisine restaurant in Germany.

The murder trial of five Vietnamese immigrants had struggled till this week. All denied guilt. Police based their circumstantial case on minute specks of blood and fibres found at the murder scene, the Lin Yue restaurant in the town of Stade, south-west of Hamburg.

Five staff from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong were tied up and shot late February 4, 2007 along with popular local restaurant owner Danny Wing Hong Fan,
32, and his 28-year-old wife, both British citizens. Only their baby survived.

At the court in Stade, lawyers read out Thursday a written statement by one accused, 41, who said he had merely helped his associates as a driver and had not been aware that a robbery was planned.

He said one of the two men who allegedly held up the restaurant admitted to him afterwards that he had shot all seven victims. The alleged robber, 30, had said he let the baby girl live because she was too young to blab.

The 30-year-old had said he had not intended to kill anyone, but pointed his gun at the restaurant staff to intimidate them, and let off a shot when the owner began to resist.

The shootings alarmed Chinese communities in northern Europe, amid fears that organized criminals might be setting up a protection racket, but German police said later the attack was a casual robbery.

Three accused have been indicted for murder. The man who testified is accused of robbery. A fifth is accused of incitement to robbery. (dpa)