Man tried to eat swan during Ramadan fast
The Daily Mail ^ | 22nd November 2006
dailymail.co.uk
A hungry man who tried to eat a swan while fasting during the Muslim festival of Ramadan was today given a two-month jail sentence.
Shamsu Miah, 52, killed the mute swan at a boating pond in Llandudno, north Wales, on September 25 - only the second day of his fast.
It is unclear whether he bit through the swan's neck or stabbed it with a knife, Llandudno Magistrates Court heard.
Miah was arrested after a dog walker spotted him carrying a dead swan in a plastic carrier bag shortly after midnight.
When he was challenged by police he told them: "I am a Muslim, I am fasting, I needed to eat."
The court heard Miah, from Llandudno, had white feathers stuck in his beard and blood on his shirt.
Jim Neary, prosecuting, said: "When interviewed he said, "I was hungry, I had to eat the swan so I killed it, I stabbed it. I did nothing wrong, it was just a bird, I needed to eat."
"The officers told him the swan was the property of the Queen and he replied, 'I hate the Queen, I hate this country'." [SO WHY DON'T YOU GO HOME????]
The court heard Miah was spotted acting suspiciously at the pond in the West Shore area of the town.
A man whose house overlooks the pond looked out of his window and noticed all the swans had congregated in the middle of the water.
Mr Neary said: "He thought this was unusual so he looked through his binoculars and he could see what looked like the wing of a swan on the ground.
"He could see the defendant trying to put something in a carrier bag. He decided to take his dog for a walk so he could get a closer look and walked past the defendant and said hello.
"He could see the defendant had something of considerable weight in the bag.
"He returned to his house and again looked out of the window and saw the defendant with the bag and what he believed to be the head of a swan falling out of the bag. He called the police."
The court heard experts did not believe the injury to the swan was consistent with a knife attack.
Miah, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to intentionally killing a wild bird and possessing a bladed article, was sentenced to two months' imprisonment.
District Judge Andrew Shaw said: "You killed a swan at night. It was a cruel and reprehensible act.
"I don't know how it died, there seems to be some speculation that you bit it but I accept you killed it with a knife.
"It is a taboo act and the only sentence I can pass is one of imprisonment."
However, Miah, who has no previous convictions, was released from custody having already served his two-month sentence while on remand. |
