October 2008 Archives

This year's Remembrance Day service will be held in Southall at the Cenotaph war memorial on the Green.

Former Mayor of Ealing Hazel Ware will attend the service. Attendees should gather at the Cenotaph at 10.30am before a procession and service at St John's Church, The Avenue, Southall at 10.45am.

by court reporter

A Southall pensioner made subject of an 'ASBO' for constantly playing his radio loudly in the corridor of his sheltered accommodation, has spent four months in prison and lost his home.

Thousands of people across the borough celebrated the holy festival of Diwali this week.

The festival, traditionally celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, began at about 5pm on Tuesday and continued through the week.

The driver of a car which collided into the front of a pub in Southall said his life flashed before his eyes moments his car struck a wall.

Hanwell man Ronald Bailey said his back tire gave out when the incident took place just outside The Red Lion in Uxbridge Road last Thursday (October 23).

A young Southall father persuaded his wife to take part in a series of mortgage frauds which netted them more than £700,000.

Isleworth Crown Court heard last week how Zamir Hussain, 28, and his now estranged wife, Mahrukh Syed, 31, obtained a succession of mortgages on two Romford properties by giving false details of Ms Syed's earnings and providing false documents.

An organisation is being set up in Southall which hopes to reunite mothers with the children they were forced to give away.

Reunite Mums and Babies aims to address the issues raised when children are born in secret and handed over to other families to prevent shame in the Asian community.

Anyone with web, technical, legal or marketing experience who wants to get involved should email asha_rani21@hotmail.co.uk or call 07939 204 065.

A SOUTHALL woman said she is disgusted with Ealing Council as it has done nothing to stop people using the disabled parking bay outside her home.

Sandip Kaur Lakhandal, 29, who lives in Inverness Road and uses a wheelchair, said other motorists have used the spot repeatedly, causing her massive inconvenience.

A self-styled "spiritual guru" from Southall was given two years in prison and had £110, 000 of assets confiscated after being found guilty of benefit fraud.

Parmjit Singh, 42, of Wentworth Road, was found guilty of committing housing benefit fraud against Hounslow Council.

In March 2008 he was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Cpirt to two years in prison.

And since then, the council have used powers in the Criminal Justice Act and Proceeds of Crime Act to identify and confiscate assets Singh gained through his crimes.

Singh told his private followers he believed in the healing powers of alternative medicine, but the Southall "priest" used some of the £40,000 he stole from false benefit claims to fund a private healthcare scheme.
Singh, 41, claimed Housing Benefit from November 1995 to November 2004. He falsely claimed he was a tenant on Wentworth Road and supplied documents to the council allegedly signed by a landlord.

The letter said he would be paying rent of £670 a month. Since his family had a low income, housing benefit was paid to help him with their housing costs.

However, later inquiries revealed that his landlord was a member of Singh's own family, which had not been declared on his claim form. This meant this claim was false, and illegal.
While Singh was claiming benefit, he provided letters and other documents allegedly from his landlord backing up his right to continue claiming, but in court during his trial in February 2008, two different
He was prosecuted for falsely claiming £46,002 in housing benefit and found guilty by the jury on all 18 counts at his trial in February 2008.
Hounslow will receive £62,012.56 in compensation and Singh has until 16 September 2009 to pay the £110,000, or face a further two years in prison.

A campaign for a low-cost Muslim cemetery in Southall is gathering momentum after getting support from local MP Virendra Sharma.

Southall businessman Dalawar Chaudhry, who is spearheading the campaign, said he is looking for a suitable site due to the "astronomical" cost of burial in the borough.

A poor turnout marked the inaugural ward forum for Southall Green at The Dominion Centre last night.

There were only about 10 people at the meeting - not including councillors or community officers - which is being used to decide how to spend £40,000 on facilities to improve residents' lives.