Kidnap gang have jail terms cut (From Croydon Guardian)

Kidnap gang have jail terms cut

4:04pm Monday 24th September 2012 in News By Hannah Williamson

A gang of six men who kidnapped a garage owner and tortured him using boiling water have had their jail terms cut on appeal.

Garage owner Sukjinder Seyan was bundled into a car by four men who showed him fake police ID in January 2011.

He was beaten, blindfolded and held for three days, while members of the gang tortured him in an attempt to obtain £350,000 they believed he was hiding.

The court heard during the three-day ordeal, Mr Seyan was repeatedly scalded with boiling water, punched, kicked and cut across his arm.

His kidnappers threatened to kill him unless he handed over £350,000 they believed he was hoarding at his car repair company in Forest Gate.

Fatjon Kolaj, 24, of Longheath Gardens, Croydon, Tariq Antonio Harrison, 23, and Llir Kurti, 22, both of Rush Green Road, Romford and Fadil Gashi, 26, of Oakley Close, Essex, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap, conspiracy to falsely imprison, conspiracy to blackmail and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

They were jailed at Croydon Crown Court last December, with Kolaj sentenced to 13-and-a-half years, Harrison jailed for 13 years and Gashi and Kurti jailed for 12 years each.

Shajah Hussain, 25, of Glenpark Road, Forest Gate and Ashley Peter Fields, 23, of Crescent Road, Dagenham, were convicted of the conspiracies to kidnap, falsely imprison and blackmail. Hussain was jailed for 15 years and Fields for 10 years.

The group all had their sentences cut by Lord Justice Pitchford, Mr Justice Bean and Mr Justice Underhill at the Court of Appeal, after it was ruled the Crown Court judge had adopted too high a starting point when sentencing the gang.

The court heard the group attempted to ransom Mr Seyan off, demanding £50,000 from his wife, before he was rescued by police who staged an "armed intervention."

Mr Justice Bean condemned the offences saying the victim was "obviously traumatised by this dreadful episode" and had burns over five percent of his body, which required skin grafts.

The judge said Mr Seyan had been left "scarred for life" and the ordeal had an "enormous psychological impact on him."

In spite of this each man had their sentence cut, with the judge saying they had been treated too harshly despite their actions.

Kolaj had his sentence cut from 13-and-a-half-years to 12-years and Harrison had his cut from 13 years four months to 12 years. Gashi and Kurti had their 12-year terms cut to 10 years eight months, while Hussain's went from 15 years to 13 years.

The sentence for Fields was cut from 10 years to eight years.