Man jailed for unprovoked acid attack on strangers
AN ASPIRING model has revealed that she tried to take her own life eight times after a stranger threw acid in her face on her 21st birthday.
Resham Khan told Snaresbrook Crown Court that she has had suicidal thoughts since the incident and had taken eight overdoses, saying: “My face was taken away from me”. John Tomlin, 25, admitted causing Ms Khan and Jameel Muhktar, her cousin, grievous bodily harm in the unprovoked attack on June 21, 2017.
The incident occurred when the pair were celebrating Ms Khan’s 21st birthday in Beckton, East London. Tomlin had been arguing with Mr Muhktar on the pavement and followed their car as they tried to escape him. Harrowing CCTV footage showed Tomlin throwing acid through both front windows of the Renault Clio before emptying a bottle of the substance over Mr Muhktar.
Ms Khan, a Manchester Metropolitan University student, was left with serious face and neck injuries and suffered damage to her left eye. Mr Muhktar, 37, was placed in an induced coma and was left with permanent scarring to his head, hearing loss and psychological problems.
Judge Sheelagh Canavan said the cousins had “no previous dealings” with the attacker and called the assault “somewhat random”. She told Tomlin: “No sentence I impose can ever give back to the victims what you took from them on June 21. The court can only hope that in time and with help they can begin to put the consequences of your unprovoked attack behind them.”
Both victims were in court as Tomlin, who remained emotionless throughout, was jailed for 16 years.
Afterwards, Ms Khan said: “No matter what his sentence may be, these injuries will affect me for the rest of my life.”