Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Police and Thieves

Imagine a white criminal, whose gang seek revenge after another gang member is murdered. The gang break into the house of an 18 year old Asian man, and take it in turns to torture him with knives and a hammer while his girlfriend cowers in the next room with her baby.

Then they shoot him in the head.

The criminal rings his girlfriend, a (white) serving police officer, within minutes of the killing. She helps him to flee the country.

I can't help thinking we'd have heard about a case like this on BBC News by now. After all, they're big on stories about torture, or possible police racism.



But nothing like this has actually happened.

A Policewoman helped two men flee the country after they allegedly tortured a teenager before shooting him in the head, a jury heard this week.

Prosecuting lawyers claim PC Rupinder Gill, 27, was in a relationship with Mohammed Akbar when 18-year-old Daniel Higgins was killed.

Her boyfriend was one member of an armed gang which broke into a flat and took it in turn to torture Mr Higgins with knives and a hammer, Reading Crown Court was told.

Mr Higgins was then shot as girl-friend Natalie Muncey cowered with her ten-month-old baby in the next room of the flat in Thirlmere Avenue, Burnham.

Akbar, 28, of Eastbridge Road, Slough, and friend Zahir Hussain allegedly used a Eurostar train to get from London to Paris after the attack in November 2003.

Gill is accused of travelling with them and returning to England a few days later.

Her mobile phone records allegedly show that she had been talking to Akbar within minutes of the savage killing.

And police searching her computer found she had looked up flights and Eurostar times on the internet, the jury heard.

Charles Miskin QC, prosecuting, said the gang murdered Mr Higgins to avenge the killing of Mohammed Choudry in February 2003.

He added: "Mohammed Akbar was amongst these masked men. He does not deny that.

"At the time of the offence, Rupinder Gill was his girlfriend and two days after the murder he and another man called Zahir Hussain fled the jurisdiction.

"They fled by Eurostar to Paris, from where they moved to Malaga. Mohammed Akbar's girlfriend assisted him in his flight."

The pair were arrested and extradited from Spain earlier this year.

Detectives investigating Gill, who trained at Hendon Police College, found St Valentine's Day cards sent after Akbar had fled the UK. The trainee officer was arrested in May 2004.

Hussain has since admitted assisting an offender and Akbar, although admitting to being in the flat, denies murder.

Home Office pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan Earl told the jury that Mr Higgins' killers used a machete to cut into his head. They also stabbed him all over his body and hit him with a blunt weapon.

Gang member Majad Khan, 29, of Wexham Road, Slough, was jailed for 20 years at Reading Crown Court in November last year for his part in the teenager's murder.

Gill, from Hounslow, denies assisting an offender.

The trial continues.


The trial has now finished. Note the total absence of Gill's occupation from the BBC report.


UPDATE - the BBC report never actually made it to the 'England' news section, which is reserved for more important stories - like 'Boy's idea protects red squirrels' and 'Kitten released from car engine'.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Her mobile phone records allegedly show that she had been talking to Akbar within minutes of the savage killing.

And police searching her computer found she had looked up flights and Eurostar times on the internet, the jury heard.


I do hope this EU directive on data retention is overturned quickly so we can allow people like Ms Gill to get away with innocently assisting a murderer.

I mean, all this communication is _private_ isn't it ?

Anonymous said...

You would certainly think the police link alone would propel into prominent position on the BBC website.

Print media's a different matter. I don't think that sort of fearful 'we-musn't-feature-people-of-colour-in-a-bad-light' attitude holds sway there, eg. plenty of coverage in the Evening Standard over the John Monckton murder.

The Rochelle Holness case will be coming up soon. So far, I don't think there's been as much coverage as there was with, say, Sarah Payne, but it's early days yet.

Anonymous said...

FWIW she wasn't a police officer at the time of the offence - she was a trainee when arrested months later

Martin said...

Anonymous,

And?

Anonymous said...

This accords with the observation by Mark Steyn in the Telegraph the other day ,that "whenever something goofy turns up on the news,chances are it involves a fellow called Mohammed."

What we might call "Steyn's Law"

Anonymous said...

Robs Corrolary to Steyns Law.

"If the BBC doesn't mention the name, but does mention the job-title, then it's 100% certain they're called MoHAMed"

Anonymous said...

To all God bothers

Rob Read wishes you a Super Saturnalia!

Anonymous said...

i dont think rochelle case was done in a appropite way i think because she was black the media does not cover for us black people with rochelle case you hear it for one day and its gone when its a white child it goes on for weeks even months hopefully we will hear more about rochelles case

Anonymous said...

you dont declare people you are in a relationship with on a job application form-hell, you aren't even allowed to ask what your spouses name is so the background check you so zealously speak of would be the exact invasion of privacy ian was speaking of and not to mention up the cost of hiring practices, which means more tax for you. and the list goes on.