A Vietnamese man appeared before magistrates in Wolverhampton today charged with killing a woman in the city almost seven years ago.

Thuy-An Mao, known as Andy, is accused of the manslaughter of Jenny Lam, who was tied up and doused in white spirit at the former Aphrodite restaurant in Stafford Street in May 2004.

The 38-year-old divorced businesswoman from Kent was tied up and covered in white spirit at the former restaurant, which she and others were renovating and changing to a new business they intended to call the Noodle Bar.

She suffered chemical burns to 75 per cent of her body and slipped into a coma before dying in hospital in October 2004.

Mao is further accused of wounding chef Ian Vuong and falsely imprisoning the man on the same night as Miss Lam was attacked.

Mao, from Blashford Road, Lewisham, London, was arrested in the capital on Tuesday and handed over to officers in the West Midlands yesterday.

He was remanded in custody until next Thursday when there will be a preliminary hearing of the case at Wolverhampton Crown Court.