Tue, 11 Aug 2015
Matthew Brook, member of No5 Chambers Crime Group, has prosecuted a father and his son for cruelty to a child.
The two teachers, Mohammed Siddiqu, 60 and Mohammed Waqar, 23, have admitted to slapping and hitting a 10-year-old boy during religious lessons at a Mosque in Sparkbrook, Birmingham.
They had been due to stand trial at Birmingham Crown Court, but both pleaded guilty to the charge of cruelty to a child under the age of 16, between 1 May and 13th June last year.
Matthew Brook said the pleas were accepted on the basis that each of the defendants had used a stick to hit the boy on the leg and slapped him. He also confirmed that the Crown did not wish to litigate the basis of plea because of the age of the complainant, who is now 11 years old.
Mr Brook also said the prosecutions main concern was that the defendants would not be able to teach in the future, and
The hearing was adjourned until 7th September for pre-sentence reports to be prepared, and allowed both defendant bail on the conditions of not contacting the victim, entering the Mosque, or teaching.
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