A next level toxic relationship by Crime Stories of Pakistan

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to True Crime, the podcast that helps you find new, emerging, and undiscovered

[00:00:08] true crime podcasts.

[00:00:09] I'm Greg, the host and curator of True Crime.

[00:00:12] Today's episode is from Crime Stories of Pakistan.

[00:00:17] Crime Stories of Pakistan is the first podcast to ever cover true crime cases from Pakistan.

[00:00:23] If you like today's episode, make sure to check out the episode description for

[00:00:27] links to subscribe.

[00:00:28] Alright, let's get this show started.

[00:00:30] Begin.

[00:00:58] On August 1st, 2015, at 1.12 a.m., a call to the police was made to the

[00:01:04] On August 1st, 2015, at 1.12 a.m., a call to 999, the equivalent of 911, was made.

[00:01:33] On the line was Shagufta Sheikh, quote,

[00:01:36] My sister-in-law can't breathe properly, unquote.

[00:01:41] Ambulance arrived to the home on Clara Street at 1.31 a.m., where the paramedics were

[00:01:47] taken to Shagufta's room.

[00:01:50] A woman lay on the bed completely unconscious.

[00:01:54] This woman was Ambreen Fatima Sheikh.

[00:01:58] When asked by the paramedics what had happened, Shagufta replied saying her sister-in-law

[00:02:04] had stopped talking to anyone at midnight and became completely unresponsive.

[00:02:10] To this, the paramedic asked why it took over an hour for her to call for help.

[00:02:15] She then quickly changed her account and said, Ambreen became unresponsive around

[00:02:20] 1 a.m.

[00:02:22] She went on to add that Ambreen had been suffering from terrible headaches for

[00:02:27] the past few days and had spent most of her day in bed.

[00:02:32] At the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Ambreen was immediately put in the intensive care unit

[00:02:39] or the ICU where she was intubated.

[00:02:44] A CT scan was performed in which swelling was found on her brain.

[00:02:50] It wasn't immediately clear as to what had caused the swelling.

[00:02:55] The next day, a procedure called a spinal tap or lumbar puncture was to be performed

[00:03:02] to determine if there was an infection in the brain.

[00:03:06] However, no such infection was detected.

[00:03:10] At the time of the spinal tap, doctors noticed a severe burn on Ambreen's lower

[00:03:15] back and upon examination, doctors determined that the burn had occurred approximately

[00:03:22] five to seven days before Ambreen was brought to the hospital and the likely cause was

[00:03:30] a corrosive substance.

[00:03:33] Ambreen also had anti-diabetic medication called Glimepiride used to treat type 2

[00:03:41] diabetes in her system, although she was not diabetic.

[00:03:46] When Oskar She, Ambreen's husband, was asked by Dr. Jones about the burn on her back,

[00:03:53] he said he was aware of the headaches but couldn't think of any reason why she would

[00:03:59] have burns on her lower back.

[00:04:02] This was reason enough for the doctors at the infirmary to call the police.

[00:04:08] It was determined that Ambreen suffered burns not only to her lower back but also

[00:04:15] her bottom and her right ear due to the corrosive substance, along with sores all

[00:04:22] over her body including her toes that would indicate a period of prolonged immobility.

[00:04:30] In addition to this, investigators believe that at some stage one or more of the defendants

[00:04:38] had removed her vomit and urine soiled clothing, cleaned her body, and dressed

[00:04:44] her and carried her into the sister-in-law's bedroom.

[00:04:49] According to the Daily Mail, due to the catastrophic brain injury that Ambreen developed from

[00:04:55] the anti-diabetes drug, it was initially thought that she would not survive very

[00:05:00] long.

[00:05:01] However, after ventilators were shut off in the hospital, she began to breathe for

[00:05:07] herself.

[00:05:09] It has now been nine years and Ambreen is still holding onto her life in a vegetative

[00:05:16] state.

[00:05:18] She is unaware of her environment, not responsive to pain, has no motor response, and will

[00:05:25] never recover.

[00:05:27] She is fed through a tube and doctors say it is only a matter of time when her

[00:05:33] body completely shuts down for good.

[00:05:36] But this could take decades.

[00:05:39] All five of the family members were charged with causing or allowing a vulnerable adult

[00:05:46] to suffer serious physical harm.

[00:05:49] This offense carried a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment at the time this

[00:05:55] took place.

[00:05:56] However, it has since been increased to 14 years since.

[00:06:01] Shagufta, Shabnam and Asghar were all accused of doing an act intending to pervert the

[00:06:09] course of justice, meaning they prevented justice from being served on Ambreen.

[00:06:16] So who are these five family members and how did this all come to be?

[00:06:22] Ambreen Fatima and Asghar Sheikh had an arranged marriage in Pakistan in 2013.

[00:06:29] Asghar and his family, which included his mom Shabnam Sheikh, his father Khalid Sheikh,

[00:06:36] his brother Saklan Sheikh, and his sister Shagufta Sheikh, all lived in West Yorkshire

[00:06:44] in the UK in the town of Huddersfield.

[00:06:48] Ambreen was a teacher in Pakistan, a happy-go-lucky full-of-life sort of person.

[00:06:55] People close to her said she would light up a room.

[00:06:59] Ambreen had seven siblings.

[00:07:02] It wasn't until November 2014 when Ambreen arrived to the UK to live in the same home

[00:07:10] as Asghar and his family.

[00:07:13] According to Robert Steen Smith, it was soon after Ambreen's arrival that problems

[00:07:20] in the Sheikh household began.

[00:07:23] Ambreen wasn't meeting the expectations of her husband and his family, and soon

[00:07:28] after she was socially isolated.

[00:07:32] She rarely left the house.

[00:07:34] She was never allowed to leave alone.

[00:07:37] She had no independent income, no friends, and could barely speak any English.

[00:07:43] Another source reported that Asghar Sheikh was threatened to kill Ambreen's family

[00:07:48] members if they came to visit.

[00:07:52] According to the lead's Crown Court records, Shabnam, the mother-in-law, had mentioned

[00:07:58] to her cousin Nahila Sadiq that in January 2015, which was only two months after Ambreen

[00:08:06] arrived to the UK, she was caught smoking a cigarette with quote, drugs in it, unquote.

[00:08:15] When confronted by Shabnam, Ambreen mentioned that it was a cigarette that her husband

[00:08:20] Asghar had given to her.

[00:08:22] In another instance, Shabnam complained to her cousin Nahila about Ambreen being smelly

[00:08:29] due to body odor and not showering, for which Nahila suggested buying shampoo,

[00:08:35] deodorant, and body wash for Ambreen because she was new to the country and needed

[00:08:40] some education on personal hygiene.

[00:08:44] Nahila suggested giving Ambreen at least six months to get used to her new life,

[00:08:50] her new surroundings, and of course marriage itself.

[00:08:54] But Shabnam wouldn't stop with the complaints.

[00:08:57] She said Ambreen doesn't cook chapatis or roti for her husband and doesn't do

[00:09:02] routine household chores.

[00:09:05] So to this, Nahila suggested sending her back to Pakistan if the family is unable

[00:09:10] to get along with her.

[00:09:12] Khalid Sheikh, the father-in-law, also wanted to send Ambreen back to Pakistan.

[00:09:17] But Shabnam refused.

[00:09:20] In July of 2015, only a few weeks before the 999 call, Ambreen's family members

[00:09:28] asked police to do a welfare check on her as they were worried about her.

[00:09:33] The West Yorkshire police officers said that she was fit and well.

[00:09:39] However, in court, the judge who was presiding over the case, named Justice Lambert,

[00:09:45] said, quote, I attach little weight to that assessment because Ms. Sheikh spoke

[00:09:51] little English and her father-in-law was present during the visit, unquote.

[00:09:57] At trial, the court heard that any responsible person in that household

[00:10:05] would have been made aware of the burn as it would have been agonizing for Ambreen

[00:10:10] and medical treatment should have been arranged for immediately.

[00:10:15] Quote, it is inconceivable that the household were unaware of it.

[00:10:23] Due to the family not giving any evidence in court, the court was unable to determine

[00:10:30] when the abuse had actually began.

[00:10:32] However, from November 2014 when Ambreen arrived to the UK, up till August 2015

[00:10:39] when the 999 call was made, that's not even a full year.

[00:10:44] So the abuse must have began either right away or after the welfare check

[00:10:50] was conducted in July of 2015.

[00:10:53] The court was also not able to determine who administered the corrosive substance,

[00:10:59] leaving Ambreen in lasting pain.

[00:11:02] The glimeparide was prescribed to Shubnam, the mother-in-law.

[00:11:07] But again, the court was unable to determine who force fed those pills to Ambreen.

[00:11:13] The judge determined that there was a delay of two to three days between when Ambreen

[00:11:19] fell unconscious and when the 999 call was made.

[00:11:24] It is also likely that during this time is when Ambreen forcefully inhaled

[00:11:28] and ingested the toxic fluids.

[00:11:31] A neighbour of the Sheikh family said,

[00:11:35] I was shocked because I just didn't realise that there was another person living in the house

[00:11:41] that we weren't aware of.

[00:11:44] She went on to say that she didn't even know Uskar had gotten married

[00:11:48] and that the wife was living at the address since November of 2014.

[00:11:53] The assistant chief constable named Damian Miller of West Yorkshire Police said,

[00:12:01] West Yorkshire Police has worked hard in recent years to improve its safeguarding

[00:12:07] of vulnerable victims in domestic settings, including those from minority communities.

[00:12:15] So if this was the case, why did this abuse even happen?

[00:12:19] If the officers realised that the father-in-law was present at the time of the wellness check,

[00:12:24] why didn't they think to check on Ambreen again at a time where she would possibly be alone

[00:12:31] or unsupervised in the house?

[00:12:34] After 10 hours of jury deliberation, 4 out of 5 family members were found guilty.

[00:12:42] Uskar Sheikh, who is now 31, was jailed for 7 years and 9 months

[00:12:47] along with his father Khalid and mother Shabnam.

[00:12:51] His sister Shagufta was given an 18-month sentence suspended for 2 years.

[00:12:57] Uskar Sheikh's brother Saklan Sheikh was not found guilty on this charge,

[00:13:01] but was given a 6-month sentence suspended for 2 years.

[00:13:06] All 5 defendants were found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

[00:13:13] At the time of sentencing, the judge said the family would have definitely been made aware

[00:13:19] of her pain, so to say that she was experiencing headaches and stopped talking to anyone

[00:13:24] didn't make any sense.

[00:13:26] The intention of the family was clear, to instil the maximum amount of pain

[00:13:32] and suffering on Ambreen without directly killing her.

[00:13:36] And all for what?

[00:13:38] Just because she didn't live up to the ridiculous expectations of the family?

[00:13:44] I'm curious to know what our listeners think.

[00:13:47] Are these sentences fair?

[00:13:49] When I researched this case, I was literally sick to my stomach.

[00:13:54] I cannot believe how a human being could torture another human being this way.

[00:14:01] In my opinion, although Ambreen has not passed away yet,

[00:14:05] she's basically deceased because there is no hope for recovery.

[00:14:09] And she's been in a vegetative state for 9 years now.

[00:14:14] This, in my opinion, warrants a life imprisonment sentence

[00:14:18] for all 5 of these scumbag family members.

[00:14:22] Not even one of the family members is innocent in this.

[00:14:26] They all knew exactly what they were doing and what the damage would be.

[00:14:30] So hearing that the sister and brother only got months of imprisonment

[00:14:34] is extremely infuriating.

[00:14:37] I personally feel all 5 should be put away for life

[00:14:41] and never see the light of day again.

[00:14:45] Since all this occurred, Ambreen's father passed away

[00:14:49] and her mother is very sick in Pakistan.

[00:14:52] One of Ambreen's brothers is known to have visited her

[00:14:56] in the palliative care facility that Ambreen lives in.

[00:15:00] For this family, it's been an ongoing tragedy day in, day out.

[00:15:06] And they are constantly reminded about the senseless torture

[00:15:10] and pain Ambreen endured.

[00:15:13] May Ambreen find peace and may a miracle happen

[00:15:17] in which she is able to recover.

[00:15:19] Ameen.

[00:15:21] If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence

[00:15:24] in any shape or form, please know that there is help.

[00:15:29] A person should never feel like there is no way out

[00:15:33] because there always is.

[00:15:36] I have linked some organizations in the show description.

[00:15:40] I'm your host Nazish, signing off.

[00:15:43] Join me again on another thrilling and chilling episode

[00:15:47] of Crime Stories of Pakistan.

[00:15:49] Until next time, remember that knowledge is power

[00:15:54] and awareness can make our world safer.

[00:15:58] Keep your eyes and ears open and vigilant.

[00:16:01] And don't forget to check up on your family members,

[00:16:05] your neighbors, and your friends.

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