LONDON – A tattooed thug was today jailed for 16 years by a British courtfor a horrific and life-changing acid attack on an aspiringPakistani-origin model and her cousin.
John Tomlin, 25, threw acid at Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar on June 21,2017. They were attacked as they were out celebrating Khan’s 21st birthday.
Tomlin, who has six teardrops tattooed on his face, attacked the duo whilethey waited in a car at traffic lights in Beckton, east London. They weredoused with acid through the car window.
Khan told Snaresbrook Crown Court that her birthday “turned into a daywhere my face was taken away from me”.
“I have been looking at myself in the mirror it upsets me, it brings backthe incident on the day, it doesn’t look like me,” she added in her victimimpact statement.
Sentencing Tomlin, Judge Sheelagh Canavan said the injuries were “dreadfuland life-changing”.
“It is becoming all too common an occurrence on our streets that members ofthe public are pouring water over people who have had acid thrown overthem, as if this is some sort of fashionable assault that is being carriedout,” she said.
Tomlin was seen on CCTV chasing after the car and emptying the bottle ofacid over Mr Muhktar as he sped away.
He was arrested after handing himself in to the police a month after theattack and said in a police interview that he was “hearing voices in myhead”.
Khan, a Manchester Metropolitan University student, suffered face and neckinjuries and was left with damage to her left eye.
She will carry lifelong scars and has suffered from severe depression andanxiety as a result of the attack, the court heard, the BBC reported.
Mukhtar, 37, who had to be placed in an induced coma, has permanentscarring to his head, neck and body and has lost hearing in one of his ears.
In his victim statement he told the court he suffers from depression andhas tried to take his own life.
“I get flashbacks and am really worried to leave my house, constantlylooking over my right shoulder fearing attacks,” he added.
“I am mentally and physically scarred for life. I can’t even have arelationship,” he said.
Helen Taylor, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said it was an “appallingattack that left the victims with physical and psychological scars”.
“This case serves as a warning of the harm acid can cause and that thosewho use it as a weapon can face significant prison sentences,” she added.