COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The victim still struggles to breathe through his nose after the attack in Nuneaton


Jaminul Islam (left) and his brother Foridul Islam (far right)

A Nuneaton restaurant boss and his waiter brother launched a vicious attack on a drunk customer they believed had left without paying.

Bull and Spice owner Jaminul Islam and his brother Foridul Islam punched and kicked the man to the ground, before taking £20 from his wallet.

The victim was left with a broken nose and still has trouble breathing through one nostril.

The brothers pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to assaulting the customer causing him actual bodily harm.

Jaminul, aged 22, and Foridul, aged 32, both of Lyndworth Road, Stirchley, Birmingham, were each sentenced to eight months in prison, which was suspended for 12 months.

Recorder Christopher Goodchild, who said the pair were lucky not to have been charged with robbery, also ordered them to do 120 hours of unpaid work and to each pay £150 costs.

Prosecutor Kevin Saunders said there was a dispute over the £59 bill at the restaurant in Bull Street, but it was not accepted that the victim had tried to leave without paying and that he had gone to get more cash.

Mr Saunders said the incident on the restaurant car park had been captured by a CCTV camera, but the main issue was whether the victim “uttered racist remarks” and threw the first punch – which the defendants said was not shown on the CCTV recording.

The recording was played in court, and Recorder Goodchild described that it showed the man wandering round the car park, and that the first of the brothers to assault him was Jaminul.

“What I have seen is a night-time view of the car park area in which the victim is seen going on a circular walk and then urinating against a fence.

“He then went out of view down a jitty and then comes out quickly, having been pounced on by the smaller of the two brothers (Jaminul) and he is knocked to the ground.

“While he is on the ground both brothers, over a period of about 30 seconds, seem to kick and punch him, with the younger one landing the first hefty kick.

“The younger one then takes his wallet and goes through it and throws it down, and the older brother then continues to punch the complainant as he’s lying on the floor.”

Jane Brady, defending, conceded it had been “a repeated assault with a shod foot” but said there had been “a greater degree of provocation”.

She handed in a number of references from people living in the area around the Bull and Spice, which Recorder Goodchild remarked were “very impressive”.

And sentencing the brothers, he told them: “Both of you are extremely hard-working, and I have read references from people in the community who speak highly of you.

“Taking into account your good characters and the provocation of the bilking, I am not going to send you immediately to prison.”