£840,000 payout for Asian policeman jailed after being ‘stitched up’ by his colleagues
AN ASIAN policeman who was jailed after being framed by colleagues won £841,000 in compensation yesterday.
Sultan Alam, 49, said his reputation had now been restored following an 18-year fight for justice that wrecked his career, two marriages and his health.
The traffic officer’s ordeal began when he lodged an employment tribunal claim, accusing Cleveland police force of racism.
In November 1994, just months before his claim was due to be heard, he was arrested by the brother-in-law of one of the senior officers he had complained about.
He was then charged with handling stolen goods by colleagues who ‘stitched him up’ because of his race claim. His trial for ‘car ringing’ in 1996 ended with his conviction and an 18-month jail sentence, half of which he served behind bars.
Once free, he found work as a taxi driver and began the long battle to clear his name. In 2007 he was exonerated when the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction. It found that serving police officers deliberately suppressed evidence that could have cleared his name.
The men Mr Alam accused of framing him were taken to court in 2004 following an investigation by a neighbouring police force. Although four officers were charged with offences including conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, the case collapsed and they were acquitted.
Mr Alam pursued a civil case against the Cleveland force, and its chief constable was forced to admit to malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office.
At Leeds County Court yesterday, Judge Andrew Keyser QC announced the award, which was a combination of damages and compensation for future earnings. Mr Alam said he had faced what seemed like ‘insurmountable odds’ in his battle to clear his name and seek justice.
Asked about the size of the payout, the father of two said: ‘To me it’s just a number. It was never about the money. It’s about the principle. It’s about what’s right.
‘All that it will do is ensure that my future is financially secure and my children’s future is secure, but that would have happened anyway if I had been allowed to continue with my career.’
In his judgment published in January, Judge Keyser said: ‘He was the deliberate target of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, the aim of which was to destroy his reputation and his career.’
After being cleared in 2007, Mr Alam was reinstated and briefly returned to police uniform before retiring two years later on health grounds.
He said yesterday he still hoped to work in some form of public service.
He separated from his wife in 2002 as a result of the turmoil of the case and a second marriage failed under the same pressures and because of his resulting psychiatric illness.
Mr Alam, a policeman’s son who came to England from Pakistan when he was eight, said he did not believe Cleveland Police had changed culturally.