We wished we had died
Acid attack victims reveal scars as judge condemns ‘fashionable’ crime
ACID attacks have almost become ‘ fashionable’, a judge said yesterday as she jailed a thug for 16 years for dousing an aspiring model with corrosive liquid on her 21st birthday.
Resham khan and her cousin Jameel Muhktar, 37, were sprayed with acid through the window of their car for no reason. their attacker was a cannabis addicted criminal who regularly carried a bottle of the liquid to rob people.
Both victims said their injuries were so severe that they longed for death after the vicious attack by John tomlin, 25.
Judge Sheelagh Canavan said: ‘it is becoming all too common an occurrence on our streets, where people are throwing acid at people as if this is a fashionable assault.
‘People think acid is not a dreadful weapon – it clearly is, it causes horrendous long-term injuries to those who are victims.’ yesterday police figures showed that the rate of acid attacks has rocketed by 79 per cent in two years.
the number of violent offences involving a corrosive liquid in london soared from 260 in 2015 to 465 in 2017, Scotland yard said.
CCTV shows the moment that tomlin, wearing camouflage gear, ran up to the victims’ parked car with a bottle of acid, which he squirted in their faces.
they were complete strangers, but, high on drugs, he mistakenly believed Mr Muhktar was looking for him after hearing him talk about a man called John.
tomlin, who has six teardrops tattooed on his face, then chased after their car and squirted more acid as Mr Muhktar attempted to drive away in panic. Mr Muhktar was temporarily blinded and crashed his car, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Witnesses saw them ‘jumping around as if they were on fire’ in the road as their clothing ‘literally melted off them onto the ground’.
through tears, Miss khan told the court that she wanted to end her life after the attack in Beckton, east london, on June 21 last year. the Manchester Metropolitan University student suffered injuries to her face, eyes and legs. She underwent three skin grafts and can no longer close her right eye.
She said: ‘this happened on my 21st birthday, which will stay with me the rest of my life as the day my face was taken away.
‘i was a young woman with the whole of my life ahead of me. i tried to take eight overdoses because of what happened. looking in the mirror, i don’t recognise the person i see. i’m still in great pain.’ her cousin said tomlin deserved the death penalty. Mr Muhktar told the court he considered suicide to end his continuous pain.
he suffered burns to 14 per cent of his body including his face, neck, chest, arms and shoulders and has lost hearing in one ear.
he said: ‘Since the attack i cannot face going outside. these scars will last forever. i cannot have a job. i struggle moving and lifting my arm. i tried to take my own life and thought about jumping in front of a train. i wanted to die and couldn’t go on any more.’
outside court, Mr Muhktar branded tomlin an ‘animal’.
he added: ‘the sentence isn’t long enough, my life has finished, i’m in continuous pain, i can’t sleep and i can’t eat. he deserves the death penalty.’
tomlin, from Canning town, east london, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent. he has convictions for robbery, burglary and theft.
the thug, who admitted he carried a bottle of chemicals to rob drug dealers, had been diagnosed with a personality disorder, which the judge said was worsened by his ‘persistent use of cannabis’.
‘He deserves the death penalty’