Home owner jailed while burglar goes free

[philw]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6956044.ece

A businessman who fought off knife-wielding thugs after his family were threatened has been jailed for 30 months.

The case prompted renewed debate over the level of force that house-holders can use against raiders.

Munir Hussain, chairman of the Asian Business Council, was praised by a judge for his “courage” in defending his wife and three children from an attack — but then jailed for the violence of his response. One of his attackers was spared a jail sentence.

The incident occurred when the Hussain family returned from their mosque during Ramadan to find three intruders wearing balaclavas in their home. Hussain was told that he would be killed. His family’s hands were tied behind their backs and they were forced to crawl from room to room.Hussain, 53, made an escape after throwing a coffee table and enlisted his brother Tokeer, 35, in chasing the offenders down the street in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, bringing one of them to the ground.

What followed was described in Reading Crown Court as self-defence that went too far. Walid Salem, one of the intruders, suffered a permanent brain injury after he was struck with a cricket bat so hard that it broke into three pieces. Neighbours saw several men beating Salem with weapons, including a metal pole.

Munir Hussain is said to feel that he let down his wife, Shaheen Begum, sons Awais, 21, Samad, 15, and 18-year-old daughter Arooj, by failing to defend them against Salem and his gang. Mrs Begum had told the court that she feared the raiders had killed her youngest son. She said: “They were hitting my husband. When I asked them to stop or looked up they started hitting him again. They told us to lie face down and not speak, or they would kill us. It was very terrifying.”

Salem was the only intruder caught after the incident in September last year, but his injuries meant that he was not fit to plead after being charged with false imprisonment. Salem, who has 50 past convictions, was given a two-year supervision order in September this year. He is now in custody awaiting trial for an alleged credit card fraud.

Munir and Tokeer Hussain, described as family men at the heart of the local community, were found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent this year. The prosecution alleged that two other men also took part in the “revenge attack”. Judge John Reddihough gave a 30-month sentence to Munir and jailed Tokeer for 39 months.

Munir Hussain, who trained as an engineer, came to Britain in 1964 and founded a company that employs nine people and with a turnover of £2.4 million. He is a former chairman of the Wycombe Race Equality Council.

Judge Reddihough said that Hussain’s family had been subject to a “serious and wicked offence” and praised the bravery of his teenage son, who escaped to raise the alarm. He also noted the “courage” of Munir Hussain, but said that he carried out a “dreadful, violent attack” on Salem as he lay defenceless.

The judge told them: “If persons were permitted to take the law into their own hands and inflict their own instant and violent punishment on an apprehended offender rather than letting justice take its course, then the rule of law and our system of criminal justice, which are the hallmarks of a civilised society, would collapse.” Michael Wolkind, QC, defending Munir Hussain, promised to appeal.

He said that the case had similarities to that of Tony Martin, jailed in 2000 for shooting dead a teenage burglar. Martin’s murder conviction was reduced on appeal to manslaughter and his sentence to five years. In a statement, the family said: “We are devastated. We hope that justice will be served.”

[Hazcat]

Un-friggin-believable!

[Rastus]

Un-friggin-believable!

In the near future, when Britain becomes a mooslim country, this will cease.

The fools will then be awakened as their children and grandchildren wear chains of islamic slavery.

[r_w]

Un-friggin-believable!

It happens here, too.  Once you have chased the burglar off your property, it is a different playing field.

[Badgersmilk]

Sorry, but when Munir gets out of jail, first order of business is to hunt down and kill that judge.

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Muslim or not this is a "Good guy" getting hosed. This is the kind of thing that happens when the Rulers reserve to themselves the use of violence.
Perhaps the Subjects of the Crown need to invest in some Ski masks of their own. Vigilante's may not be perfect, but they are better than being forced into victimhood by Government decree.

[tt11758]

Muslim or not this is a "Good guy" getting hosed. This is the kind of thing that happens when the Rulers reserve to themselves the use of violence.
Perhaps the Subjects of the Crown need to invest in some Ski masks of their own. Vigilante's may not be perfect, but they are better than being forced into victimhood by Government decree.

Amen!!

[crusader rabbit]

It happens here, too.  Once you have chased the burglar off your property, it is a different playing field.

We had an instance here in St. Petersburg a few years ago when a restaurant owner came upon a bad guy stealing the day's receipts.  Bad guy ran.  Business owner jumped in his car and ran down the bad guy causing him greivious injury.  Business owner was found not guilty by a jury of his peers.  But he was charged by the DA!

Another instance in Santa Rosa, California found a homeowner awakened by a bad guy climbing through his kitchen window.  He clobbered the dude with a baseball bat knocking him back outside.  He then went out and proceeded to demonstrate his displeasure by further application of the baseball bat to the head and upper torso of the bad guy.  DA there elected not to prosecute but was quoted in the paper warning citizens that they cannot administer justice when the threat is eliminated.  In other words, you can knock him out of your house in California.  But you can't chase him down the street.

In Florida we have the Castle Doctrine that allows us to shoot intruders.  We also have a "stand your ground" law that does not require us to run from a threat, but rather allows us to "deal" with it.

[tombogan03884]

Actually, they probably both should have been charged. In both cases there was no longer a threat to the Good guy. If you have to jump into your car to chase the guy there is clearly no "Imminent danger" to you, in the Ca. case the home owner was only justified if the BG was yelling threats to come back and then, that's only my some times brutal opinion. I don't know HOW HE avoided charges.

[fightingquaker13]

I agree here. Once the guy is no longer a threat, its the cop's problem, not yours. In regards to the OP, you would think that the guy shold have gotten off under a very justified "temporary insanity" plea. He was full of adrenaline, scared and pissed because of something that was forced on him. Personally, I'd have given him  suspended sentence and let him walk at worst. Preferabbly, the DA would just have let it go. The thing the UK doesn't seem to get is that they are empowering criminals by sending a message to law abiding folks that even if you defend yourself you go to jail. You're screwed either way.
FQ13 who remembers, remembers, the 12th of November