Thug who attacked litter warden will not have sentence extended
A man who attacked a litter warden will not have his sentence extended after a hearing at the Court of Appeal, it has been revealed.
Raja Malik assaulted the officer working on behalf of Dudley Council in August last year whilst the victim was trying to do his job.
The defendant was charged with assault and racially-aggravated assault and sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on May 21.
Malik was handed a nine months prison sentence suspended for two years which prompted calls to review the "unduly lenient" sentence.
It led to the Attorney General ordering the case to be sent to the Court of Appeal after a request by Dudley Council chief executive Kevin O'Keefe.
Now, at a hearing at the Court of Appeal on July 15, three judges "did not find" the sentence passed down to the defendant was "unduly lenient".
It means the sentence will remain alongside that of second man Mohammed Nawaz, who was charged with assault and using an offensive weapon.
Nawaz, 50, was handed a six months prison term suspended for a year during the hearing on May 21. Mr Kevin O'Keefe had asked for both sentences to be reviewed, but the Attorney General chose to only referred Malik's case to the Court of Appeal.
The litter officer had spotted a woman flicking cigarette butts from a car window in Pickford Street, and later went to fine them when he saw the car parked in Jasmine Street.
But as he was taking their details, 30-year-old Malik emerged from a house and confronted the officer saying "everyone chucks cigarette butts... I've done it".
When the litter officer said he would call the police, Malik added: "You call police and I'll f***ing take your head off" and "Get the f*** off my property you white motherf***er".
Nawaz, 50, joined in and chased the council worker with a mop handle which shattered into several pieces due to the force of the blow inflicted upon the victim. Officers identified the thugs, and 18 days after the attack went to speak to them at an address in Jasmine Street.
The men refused to let police inside and so, after several warnings, Inspector Pete Sandhu kicked open the front door. Both were also ordered by Wolverhampton Crown Court on May 21 to pay the victim £500 in compensation following their sentencing.
The victim, aged 35, suffered bruising from the attack but was not seriously injured.
