Stabbing chef jailed (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Stabbing chef jailed

1:48pm Wednesday 22nd August 2012 in News

AN ILLEGAL immigrant who stabbed a waiter four times at the Ulverston restaurant where they worked has been jailed for seven and a half years.

Fozlu Miah was a chef at the British Raj on King Street when he carried out a “savage” attack in January 2007.

His victim Khalid Hussain suffered wounds to his lower back and both arms. Two arteries in his right arm were cut and tendons to his hand were almost severed.

Preston Crown Court heard that Miah disappeared for more than five years after the stabbing. The case featured on TV’s Crimewatch, with no result.

He was arrested by chance during a raid in Bethnal Green, London that was linked to imigration enquiries. His fingerprints were taken, and matched those from the ID card retrieved at Ulverston.

Miah, 27, from Bangladesh, had pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He was 22-years-old at the time of the offence, while Mr Hussain was 27.

David Temkin, prosecuting, said Miah was an illegal immigrant who had no visa. It had not been uncommon for the two men to argue.

Mr Hussain said he was often threatened by the defendant. Miah made similar assertions of threats and bullying towards him, which the Crown had accepted.

On the evening of January 4, 2007 Mr Hussain entered the kitchen to inquire about a takeaway order. An argument occured between him and the defendant.

During that Mr Hussain said: “Come outside, I’ll sort you out”. After that, Mr Hussain went on to urge Miah to hurry up because the customer had been waiting for some time.

Miah responded rudely, and went on to stab Mr Hussain to his lower back.

Mr Hussain tried to protect himself from further attack and he tried to grab the knife. “At this point he was wounded a second time,” Mr Temkin said, “this time to his right arm.

“He was chased by the defendant out of the kitchen and stabbed a third time, to the left arm. Immediately after that he was stabbed to left side of the stomach or lower back.”

Mr Temkin added the “ten-second” attack left Mr Hussain fearing for his life, Passing sentence, Judge Andrew Woolman told Miah, through an interpreter, he may well have been angry, regularly insulted and challenged to a fight outside.

But the judge said “Your response was very savage. It isn’t surprising if Khalid Hussain thinks his whole life has been affected by what you did.”