Terror as raiders threaten to chop off hands and legs
WOMAN AND TWO MEN TORTURED BY CLEAVER-WIELDING GANG DEMANDING CASH
THREE members of a household were terrorised by cleaver-wielding raiders, who threatened to chop their hands and legs off if they did not give them cash.
Two male victims had blades held to their throats and pillowcases put over their heads during “torture” and one was deliberately scalded with water from a kettle.
The residents pleaded for them to leave during the daylight raid and insisted there were no large sums of money in the house.
The woman victim had her necklace ripped off and feared she was going to be sexually assaulted, until one of the four-man gang stepped in to protect her, Leicester Crown Court was told.
Lynsey Knott, prosecuting, said it was only when the woman got the upper hand by grabbing a large knife and threatening them that the intruders fled.
One, Barrington McBean, 52, slipped over on the floor – wet from the scalding water – and was detained by the householders until the police arrived.
The raiders, who had staked out the house, wrongly believed the semidetached property in Kingston Avenue, Wigston, was a cannabis factory where drugs or cash would be readily available.
ne of the burglars, Sandeep Singh, 39, who was said to have been coerced against his will into taking part, phoned the police immediately afterwards to own up.
Two others were later arrested but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them, said Miss Knott.
McBean, of Baildon Street, Lewisham, London, admitted aggravated burglary with bladed articles, on July 15.
Singh, a married father, of Wicket Close, Loughborough, admitted a lesser offence of burglary, without aggravation.
The court heard Singh masqueraded as a gas company official with a clip board, to initially gain entry under the guise of reading the meter, and returned with an accomplice to “inspect the boiler” - before McBean joined them with a fourth member, who was armed with a meat cleaver.
The group also armed themselves with a cleaver from the kitchen.
One of the victims suffered superficial burns to his torso and arm and the woman resident had injury marks on her neck, head, hand and a bruised knee.
Jonathan Dunne, mitigating for
McBean, said: “He’d only been in Leicester for a week and believed they were burgling a cannabis factory. He’d say it was the biggest mistake of his life.”
Errol Ballentyne, for Singh, said his client was “exploited” and “coerced” into taking part and was not involved in any planning or violence - and had protected the female victim from being molested.
He said Singh’s role was “subordinate” and he was subjected to threats.
The Recorder Martin Butterworth said: “I have to sentence you for your roles in what was serious organised crime.
“You believed the premises had large amounts of drugs or money.
“There was a carefully thought out plan to assess what threat may be presented by the occupants –
Singh facilitated that by masquerading as being there for a lawful purpose.
“The occupants were restrained and subjected to a protracted and brutal experience, with threats of torture and one being scalded.
“The woman was no doubt terrified and feared she would be sexually assaulted and I recognise you, Mr Singh, intervened to ensure that didn’t happen.”
The judge said McBean had a long criminal record and in 2011 was jailed for six years for robbery and burglary offences.
He told Singh: “I have to give proper attention to your basis of plea but, however reluctantly, you participated. I accept you didn’t know weapons would be involved, but you realised because of the way you’d been treated (by the group) it could involve threats of violence.”
He said he was suspending Singh’s sentence because he had contacted the police to confess his involvement.
McBean was jailed for nine years and told he will have to serve twothirds of the sentence.
Singh was given an 18-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement, and was ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.