Businessman who hung half-naked associate from fork-lift truck in row over 100,000 is jailed

By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 6:39 PM on 25th July 2011

A businessman who tied up an associate and hung him half-naked from a forklift truck in a row about cash was jailed for 33 months today. Muhammed Sheikh, 35, lured Saeed Noor to a warehouse after accusing him of stealing 100,000 from their company, a jury heard. Sheikh then forced Mr Noor to take off his trousers before stringing him up, threatening him with a knife and attacking him in a three-hour ordeal.

'Ludicrous': Judge Beech listened to the shocking case at Snaresbrook Crown Court, pictured

He then called the police to the warehouse in Dagenham, Essex and told officers he had executed a 'citizen's arrest' over the stolen cash. At Snaresbrook Crown Court Judge Jacqueline Beech said the 'degrading' attack was motivated by revenge following their business dispute. The court heard Mr Noor had lent Sheikh some 10,000 to help pay rent on a warehouse and to meet bills, but in July 2010, he asked for the cash back so he could take his family on a holiday to Greece. Sheikh, said to be heavily in debt, went to Mr Noor's house on July 4 last year and lured him to the warehouse with the promise of sorting out the dispute. That's when Mr Noor's ordeal began.

Ordeal: Mr Noor was dangled from the forklift ruck for three hours

Prosecutor Karen Holt said: 'Mr Sheikh slapped Mr Noor around the face,' Ms Holt said. 'His trousers at one stage were taken off and he was left sitting in his underwear.' Ms Holt said that while Mr Noor was tied up Sheikh barked at him 'Shall I give you your money now'. Sheikh also filmed part of the attack, in which Noor can be seen tied up and begging for the ropes to be loosened, which also show the forklift truck on. When police arrived at 10.15pm, Sheikh claimed that Noor had used his name to create fake accounts and forge cheques, stealing around 100,000 from their businesses. Mr Noor was also investigated by police, but police did not find evidence to back up Sheikh's claims. Sheikh, of Plaistow, east London, was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and false imprisonment. Former co-defendant Micko Kadic, 37, of Mill Farm Close, Pinner, Middsx, was earlier cleared of both counts by the jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court. The court heard that Sheikh continues to deny his guilt. Barry Myers, defending Sheikh, argued that as prosecutors had claimed that 6ft8ins Kadic was the one who had hung Noor from the truck, it could not have formed part of the attack. But the judge rejected his argument, saying she was 'sure' that it had taken place after seeing videos which showed the truck was turned on during the attack on Noor. Judge Beech told Sheikh: 'You slapped him across the face so hard that he fell to the floor, and he was then tied up to a chair. 'There then followed a period of at least three hours, during which Mr Noor remained tied up. 'He was slapped around the face, he was hung upside down from a forklift truck.

'It was one of the most ludicrous defences I have ever heard and had the misfortune to listen to as a judge, to justify keeping someone tied up against their will in excess of three hours,' she said. While he was hanging from the truck, Noor was assaulted again, and Sheikh twice rushed at him holding a knife, the judge said. 'You were stopped from using that knife by your friend Kadic, and that must have been something that must have caused Mr Noor considerable additional distress,' she said. The fact that he was filmed had added to his 'degradation', she said. Sheikh was handed a sentence of two years and nine months for the false imprisonment, with no extra term for the assault.