FATHER’S THREAT TO ‘CHOP UP’ HIS DAUGHTER

A COUPLE who lured their teenage daughter to Bangladesh to try to make her wed and have a baby with her first cousin have been found guilty of forced marriage offences.

Leeds Crown Court heard the woman, 19, who cannot be named, was seen “running” from her relatives during a rescue bid by the British consulate.

She had previously told the jury that she endured “physical abuse” in the incident.

After rejecting the marriage, the teenager said her father even threatened to “chop her up in 18 seconds” if she did not comply.

The victim had managed to contact her boyfriend in the UK while in Bangladesh, who was able to get in touch with authorities.

The court heard the victim, from Yorkshire, was taken out of her school during term time for what she was told was a family holiday to Bangladesh – where forced marriages are illegal – on July 3, 2016 and a date was set for the wedding on July 21.

Just days after arriving she was told by her father that he had found a husband for her.

The victim told the court: “He was trying to get me to say yes, but at no point did I say yes. I thought it was disgusting because it was my first cousin and stood my ground.”

The teenager, from Leeds, was supposedly told that rejecting the proposal would “bring shame” on her parents.

She said: “As the days went by, verbal abuse turned to physical abuse.”

She also said her mother told they were going to leave her there for a year so she would get pregnant so that he (the first cousin) could get a visa.

The parents will be sentenced on June 18.