A £44,500 disability benefits cheat who claimed he could barely stand was actually working long hours running two market stalls.
Matloob Hussain Shah, 61, is now starting a four-month jail sentence after an investigation into the stalls he ran at Burnley and Accrington markets.
It took three months of surveillance to come up with the evidence.
Afzal Anwar, for Shah, said he clearly had a long medical history. He had had heart bypass surgery, was an asthmatic, suffered back pain and even after 2005 he had been in hospital and had been to see his GP over his health issues.
He was still more active than a lot of non-disabled people!
Why jail him?
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be better to allow him to carry on working and pay back what he owes?
British Justice is a joke.
Still working at 61. At least he gets off his arse and does something! Jailing him doesn't seem like the right punishment - it's clearly the money he cares about, so get him to pay it back. Agree with Bill. And costs the taxpayer a fortune locking him up.
ReplyDeleteForty four tax free grand, to be added to income from market stall (income tax and national insurance deducted?) doesn't exactly show him in an "atleast he gets off his arse and does something!" light. Six months, of which he will have 50% deducted for good behaviour as soon as he is driven through the front gates, seems pretty fair to me. The only thing not fair is that he is srving his sentence here and not back in Pakistan!
ReplyDeletePenseivat
Bill, he's "paying it back" at £17.70 per week which is less than 2% of the amount claimed. If he's saved the money he can make a profit out of the deal.
ReplyDeleteSorry that should have been a little more than 2%
ReplyDeleteThe name 'Matloob Hussain' was sufficient to put eye of newt in your cauldron, JuliaM.
ReplyDeleteYour prejudice never once strayed off course by publishing a balancing account of astute Asian enterprise.
You would rather gouge out and boil your own eyes than recognise the aforementioned talent. The massive contribution made by Asians to the economic position of the UK as a whole, can only be underestimated by a fool or racist.
"Wouldn't it be better to allow him to carry on working and pay back what he owes?"
ReplyDeleteIt'd take a while!
" The only thing not fair is that he is srving his sentence here and not back in Pakistan!"
Spot on!
"The name 'Matloob Hussain' was sufficient to put eye of newt in your cauldron, JuliaM."
I don't care much for benefit cheats no matter what their creed, colour or race, Melvin. You should know that, you've been reading for long enough.
And to what 'massive contribution by Asians' are you referring?
Voting fraud? 'Honour' killing?