LONDON: A British-Pakistani man has been handed suspended jail term for 22 weeks and a fine of £15,000 for arranging a cockfight at his house in East London.
At the Barkingside Magistrates Court on Thursday, the judge announced that Muhammed Asab, 51, was the ringleader behind the cockfight and will face jail if he didn’t pay the fine to the court or didn’t carry out community work for free for 200 hours or if he ever tried keeping a bird.
Other members of the group who were present on the scene when the police raided the house and were found sitting in the cock-fighting area included Muhammed Arif, 44, Akhtar Hussain, 47, Mehtab Ahmed, 41, Altaf Hussain, 54 and all of them were banned for life for keeping birds and ordered to pay £1,500 each towards the costs of prosecution. A 16-year-old boy was also sentenced but could not be named for legal reasons. The costs were ordered after the RSPCA told the judge that it had looked after four cockerels for over a year and incurred charges towards their welfare.
The six men were arrested earlier this year in January when the police raided a home on complaint of a neighbour who reported to the police that the gang was causing cruelty to cockerels and noises could be heard far and wide as the fight went on. The gang denied a string of animal cruelty charges but were found guilty based on evidence.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPA)’s inspector Cliff Harrison told this scribe at the court that he saw a huge blood-stained fighting pit where cockerels armed with sharpened spurs were pitched against each another in a building where the group had designed a ring complete with seats and fake grass. He said he hoped the men would learn from their convictions and would not get involved in any illegal activity.
“Cockfighting was banned in England in 1835 but still goes on in various circles with successful prosecutions in Brighton in 2012 and Bournemouth in 2014. We are going after people having any connections with it,” he said.
Rashad Aslam of law firm Adam Bernard Solicitors which represented three men said while evidence was found on Asab’s mobile phone, there was no evidence against rest of the accused.
“The police relied on circumstantial evidence, there was no actual or direct evidence linking any of the remaining 5 accused to the actual crime. Our clients along with others were having dinner when the police raided the house. The police didn’t have any footage or proof of their involvement in the fight. They have been convicted because they just happened to be there at the wrong time,” he said.
Rashad Aslam said that he would consider appeal for his clients. The court heard that a blood-stained towel was also found at the scene and other cockerels – aseel or asil types which originate from India and Pakistan – were also present on the premises. A total of ten cockerels and two hens were seized by police and animal welfare officers during the raid earlier this year.
Police seized mobile phones from the property, which featured a number of photos and videos of attacks. These were used as ‘vital evidence’ in the trial. Ten cockerels and two hens were seized by police and placed in RSPCA care.
Asab was declared as the gang leader and was charged with additional offences including causing an animal fight involving cockerels, taking part in an animal fight involving cockerels, kept or trained cockerels for use in connection with an animal fight, kept premises for use for an animal fight, and causing unnecessary suffering to a cockerel by failing to provide veterinary care.