Two brothers accused of causing grievous bodily harm to a man who beat their sister, said they were only intending to find out why he did it and hear him admit to the fact that he needed help.

Gregory David Zuill, 26, and Kenneth Larry Wade, 31, pleaded not guilty to the charge, along with their nephew Kujii Jomar Wade, 19, all of Anchorage Road, St. George's.

Earlier the Supreme Court heard that on October 4, 1993, Zuill, Kenneth Wade and Kujii Wade went to the residence of 43-year-old Michael King on Smith's Hill Road in St. David's after hearing that he assaulted 34-year-old Rochelle Cooper.

King sustained a gash to the head which required 18 stitches to close, a fractured rib, and a badly bruised arm.

And as a result of the fight with King, Cooper received bruising about the right eye and left ear, abdominal tenderness and bruising to the back and lower neck.

Yesterday Zuill, who is represented by Mr. Delroy Duncan, said the only reason they went over to King's house that morning was to find out why he beat their sister.

"I wanted to collect evidence from King so I could prosecute him, so he would not be able to do what he did to Rochelle to anyone else,'' Zuill said.

He added: "I went to King's house with my brother Kenneth and my nephew Kujii because I was afraid of what he could do to me. I knew he had a cedar stick in his bedroom.

"And I told him if he had anything to say to me he could do it in front of Kenneth and Kujii.'' Zuill also told the court that while in King's house he could tell he was getting angry because of his facial expressions and the fact that his voice got louder.

He added: "King shoved me and I shoved him back he was irritated and extremely mad.

"My brother told him that this had to stop and that he had been beating on Rochelle for too long.'' Zuill also said that Kenneth Wade was carrying a piece of wood in his hand and he could not remember if Kujii Wade had any weapon.

"Michael pushed Kenneth and he pushed him back and when Michael came at Kenneth again he hit him with the wood in the rib cage. Michael grabbed the wood and they wrestled,'' Zuill said.

He added: "Kenneth had Michael by the collar and that's when he noticed blood on his hand and he let Michael go. He ran to his bedroom but Kenneth and I prevented him from closing the door. We knew he was going to get his cedar stick.

"Michael then walked out into the kitchen. His friend Creswell said look at his head. We saw that it was bleeding and we left the premises,'' Zuill said.

He also stated that he never saw Kujii Wade strike King, but found out later by Kujii that he did hit him.

When asked by Crown Counsel if he went to King's house for revenge Zuill replied: "That is not true.'' Mr. DeJulio also questioned Zuill about other past incidences when King allegedly hit Cooper.

"I did not do anything to King in the past concerning other incidents. I would only talk to Rochelle,'' Zuill said.

Mr. DeJulio asked Zuill if on October 4 he "felt responsible for his sister's welfare and whether he had had enough of the abuse''.

Zuill replied: "It wasn't the question of whether I had enough -- it's whether she had enough, and she did.

"We went to King's house because it was a family crisis as far as I was concerned.'' Kenneth Wade, who is represented by Ms Elizabeth Christopher, told the court that on the way to King's house he found a piece of wood to take with him.

"I took it because I know the nature of Michael King. I had previous dealings with him before after my sister came to me with her mouth spit,'' Wade said.

He added: "While at King's house I told him that this had to stop because he had been beating my sister long enough. He put his hand on my chest and pushed me.

"I pushed him back and then he came at me again with his fists rolled up.

That's when I hit him in the rib cage with the stick. I had to defend myself because of the size of Michael compared to me.'' Wade also said that he and King began wrestling. "I grabbed Michael's T-shirt and that is when I noticed he was bleeding, after that we all left.'' When cross-examined by Mr. DeJulio, Wade said: "King had no reason to hit my sister. I don't think that it is very nice for a man to do that.'' The trial continues on Monday before Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Meerabux. Kujii Wade is represented by Ms Keren Lomas.