Possessive married man stalked his ex
A POSSESSIVE man who used contacts with his taxi company to stalk his former partner has been jailed.
The victim told Kirklees Magistrates’ Court how her life was made a misery for two years due to Usman Zaman’s controlling behaviour.
Zaman, who was married to another woman throughout the relationship, constantly followed her and demanded to know everything about her, from her diet to details of her menstrual cycle.
During one frightening episode the 30-year-old used his car to block the victim and her friends from getting away in a taxi.
Zaman, of Whitby Avenue in Fartown, admitted stalking her between July 21 and September 23 this year.
Jess Lister, prosecuting, told a previous hearing at the Huddersfield court that during the couple’s two-year relationship the victim was subjected to controlling behaviour and “significant harassment” by Zaman.
She said: “He repeatedly questioned her about where she was and who she had been with.
“The defendant would ask what she had been eating and questioned her about her menstrual cycle.
“He would follow her to work and ask why her vehicle was not in the work car park. He went to her friends’ addresses and called her work colleagues.”
Then on September 21 when the victim refused to let 30-year-old Zaman into her Scapegoat Hill address, he entered in the early hours of the morning and got into bed with her.
The next day he approached the 27-year-old while she was out drinking in Huddersfield town centre with friends.
He then followed them as they caught a taxi and travelled towards Westgate, pulling in front of the cab at an angle so that the vehicle couldn’t move forward.
Zaman shouted at his frightened ex to “get out of the f ***** g taxi” and when she refused he showed her a picture of her in her underwear and said the taxi would move when he allowed it to.
The victim discovered that Zaman had been married throughout their relationship and had three children with his wife.
But when she gave him an ultimatum to leave her his sinister behaviour escalated.
On one day alone he bombarded her with 50 calls and 20 texts.
He used his family and friends and connections at a taxi company to find addresses and telephone numbers, forcing the victim to “make considerable changes to her life.”
The brave woman told the court: “This has been the most difficult part of my life.
“I was strong, independent and carefree. Now at 27 I’m terrified of leaving my own home.
“I am in constant fear that Usman is waiting outside and the impact upon my emotional health has been unimaginable.
“I’ve been isolated from my friends and lost contact with them, missing out on important events with friends and family due to his controlling behaviour.
“I’m worried he will continue to contact my colleagues and friends. I’ve been persistently controlled, followed and monitored by Usman and the people he knows.
“I’m scared of what my future holds due to the extent of control and manipulation from Usman.”
Magistrates sentenced Zaman to 10 weeks in custody.
They also made a restraining order, banning him from contacting his ex or two of her friends until November 2020. Zaman will have to pay £115 victim surcharge upon his release from prison.