Man scared former pal by brandishing meat cleaver

A SHOPKEEPER was ‘scared for his life’ when his former friend drunkenly brandished a meat cleaver in the convenience store where he worked.

Arshad Mahmood pulled the knife from his jacket in front of Muhammad Cheema, prosecution barrister Rachel Faux told Bolton Crown Court.

Mahmood, 45, has avoided jail after pleading guilty to possessing an offensive weapon at the New Interchange Superstore in Great Moor Street, Bolton, on July 12, 2018.

Ms Faux told the court that Mahmood and Mr Cheema had become friendly in the weeks leading up to the incident.

Mahmood also wanted a job at the shop but failed to provide the necessary identification documents.

At around 11.30am on July 12, 2018, Mahmood turned up at the store and pulled a meat cleaver out of his jacket and rubbed it on the counter, Ms Faux said.

After calling the police, Mr Cheema left the shop and headed towards his car to find that a brick had been thrown through the window and that the tyres had been slashed.

However, Ms Faux told the court that the prosecution cannot prove it was Mahmood that did this.

In a victim personal statement, Mr Cheema said: “I’m really scared because of the incident. I’m scared for my life.”

Mahmood told officers that he ‘didn’t mean to do it and was just p ***** ’.

He also told police that he’d been working for Mr Cheema, seven days per week, for six months. Mahmood claimed that he’d only been paid £80 in all that time.

Mahmood, now of Gainsborough Avenue, Oldham, denied making threats and damaging Mr Cheema’s car.

Defending barrister Steven Sullivan admitted that Mahmood ‘needs support with conflict resolution’.

Sentencing Mahmood to 10 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, Judge Graeme Smith said: “The incident took place two and half years ago and there has been no re-offending in that period, which does support the assessment that re-offending is not imminent.”