Two years jail for man who imprisoned Halifax woman and cut off her hair

Bradford man Saqib Zaman had been in an on-off relationship with the victim, but in January he got into her home and subjected her an ordeal lasting more than three hours.

Judge John Potter said the 23-year-old went into the complainant’s bedroom at about 6am and behaved in a threatening and menacing way towards her.

“Frankly over the course of the next number of hours you subjected the victim to what can only be described as a terrible ordeal involving numerous assaults on her...slaps and threats towards her,” the judge told Zaman.

“You humiliated her in my judgement Mr Zaman by at one point cutting off chunks of her hair and throwing them to the floor.”

The judge said Zaman had also sought to control her movements by locking her in her own home and going out to buy alcohol.

Bradford Crown Court heard today (Wednesday) that Zaman destroyed the victim’s mobile phone so she couldn’t call for help and threatened her with a knife which made her fear that he might kill her.

The judge said at one point Zaman even bit the complainant on the arm causing a painful injury.

“This catalogue of physical abuse only came to an end when the victim was able to escape from the house, carrying her child in her arms, and ran to a nearby shop.”

Police officers attended the scene at about 9.30am and Zaman was arrested following a chase on foot.

After his arrest Zaman, of St Leonard’s Road, Girlington, made racist remarks to a police officer and appeared to be under the influence of drink or drugs.

A few weeks before the attack on the victim, Zaman had gone to the home of a burglary victim in Halifax and initially offered to buy replacements for her stolen property.

But the court heard that when the offer was not accepted Zaman then told the woman that there would be “consequences” if she did not drop the charges.

Judge Potter described that as a sinister offence which was intended to intimidate the householder.

Zaman pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment, racially aggravated harassment and witness intimidation and was jailed for a total of 28 months.