Tariffs
Tuesday 7 August 2001
Court 4
Royal Courts of Justice
The decision of the Lord Chief Justice of tariff in the case of Tahir Malik in accordance with the Practice Direction dated 27 July 2000 (The Times 9 August 2000).
1. Tahir Malik was born on 29 November 1976 and was 16 at the time of the offence. On 28 July 1994 at the Central Criminal Court before the Common Sergeant of London Tahir Malik was found guilty of murder and sentenced to be detained during Her Majesty's Pleasure.
Description of the Offence
2. Tahir Malik was playing in a park in Slough with younger children including the deceased, who was a nine year old boy called Akhlaq Ahmed. At about 4.15pm the defendant and the deceased were seen to leave the park together. The deceased was never seen alive again. His naked body was found at 9.25pm in a small clearing surrounded by bushes in the park. He had been strangled both manually and with a linear instrument. He had been punched and kicked and beaten over the head, probably, with a copper pipe. There was no evidence of sexual assault and the crime was without motive. Tahir Malik denied that he was responsible for the killing but stated that he had observed other youths committing the crime.
3. The trial judge stated his report to the Home Secretary that he believed that "the dead boy by word or deed annoyed the defendant, who then attacked him causing injuries which were far more serious than he had originally intended to inflict". He added that he believed that the defendant is and would remain a dangerous man because given his mental state, he acts both impulsively and irrationally. The judge hoped that training while in custody would make him able to control himself better than he did then but he was not optimistic.
4. Before the judge Tahir Malik was described as being mildly mentally handicapped with an IQ of 64 as against a norm of 90 to 110. He was illiterate with a low level of numeracy.
5. Lord Taylor, the Chief Justice, commented that despite the mild mental retardation he saw no reason to recommend any less a period than the 12 years the trial judge had recommended. This joint recommendation was accepted by the Home Secretary.
Tahir Malik's Difficulties
6. Tahir Malik was initially committed to Belmarsh Prison after his trial. He was then transferred to Aylesbury Young Offenders institute. He was admitted to Rampton Special Hospital under sections 47 / 49 Mental Health Act 1983 from Woodhill Prison on 31 May 1985 because he was not coping in prison, he was being bullied and his physical health was deteriorating.
7. As far as I can ascertain from the papers before me, it was ascertained at Rampton that Tahir Malik was suffering from an autistic disorder, Aspergers Syndrome. In a report 27 February 2001 Dr. Ajmal, a clinical psychologist, stated that "Tahir has all the features of an autistic personality and he also possesses an exceptional memory. He has an obsessive interest in radios, TV and electronics and in particular likes to listen to Asian radio stations. He is probably the most knowledgeable person about radios and televisions in Britain I have ever come across. He also learns a lot of useful facts from radio and TV and commits then to memory. His obsessive interest presents us with a fascinating contradiction. While (he) has severe communication difficulties with his peers and staff, he yearns for communication symbolised by his obsessive interest in telecommunications."
8. Dr Ajmal adds that the fact Tahir Malik perceives himself as different from other people is doubly emphasised because of his Asian/Muslim identity. He sees himself as different, not only as someone with communication difficulties but also someone who is not understood because of his different ethnic and cultural background. Dr. Ajmal rejects the classification which has been made of Tahir Malik that he is psychopathic. He regards Tahir Malik as a low-risk patient who could easily survive in a medium-secure environment "provided the staff there are adequately trained to manage patients with autism spectrum disorders especially Aspergers". He considers it is important that this should be in a region where there is a considerable Asian presence. Dr Ajmal in his recommendation for treatment, recognises that Tahir Malik's condition means that he creates problems for staff but concludes that because he is a difficult patient to work with does not mean that he should not be treated with respect and care. He does not consider that the high-risk factor in Tahir Malik's case, which is his autistic mental picture, is likely to change.
9. In a report dated 29 June 2001 Dr. Patricia Bendall, a consultant in forensic psychiatry gives a broad description of the difficulties created by Tahir Malik's condition. The doctor refers to his "paranoid interpretation of the world around him and of peoples actions towards him and an extreme egocentricity". The doctor says that Tahir Malik has some characteristics and actions which have been thought to indicate an anti-social personality trait, including throwing hot water over female prison staff, threatening to kill a female psychologist at Rampton and threatening to find out female staff addresses within the hospital. These threats are taken seriously by the authorities although Tahir Malik later says they were just jokes. The doctor adds, he goes for long periods of not talking to women and suggests that he tends to bully and agitate vulnerable prisoners on the ward, he likes to be alone, and does not like his personal space invaded. She adds, this is because of his Aspergers Syndrome
10. She concludes by saying that Tahir Malik is a man with extreme needs based around his Aspergers Syndrome. Such people can change but almost imperceptibly and they need constant help and understanding. It is the opinion of Tahir Malik's team that he should remain at Rampton to continue his treatment which must address not only his communication problems but in addition his ways of interacting with men and women. It is the opinion of the clinical team that Tahir Malik still poses a danger to others.
11. The information provided by Rampton puts into context information which was available from the social services and others at the time that Tahir Malik appeared at the Central Criminal Court. There is no doubt that he constituted a considerable problem for both the education authorities and social services. Although he had been attending a special school, he had been expelled from that school at the age of 15 for disruptive behaviour. He was of unusual appearance and physique which caused him to be known locally as the "wolf boy". He was unable to communicate with people of his own age, he was friendless and therefore tried to strike up relationship with very young children. His being in the company of a boy of the age of the deceased was an every day occurrence. The Berkshire Youth Justice Service wrote a report for the court and refers to the fact that he had been "the victim of intense name calling and bullying from other children". It refers to the fact that his headmistress refers to Tahir Malik wanting to spend all his time on computers and becoming extremely abusive to staff and other pupils if attempts were made to get him to do anything else. He had four previous convictions, the first for burglary and that was in relation to the school from which he had been expelled. The offence was not committed with the intention to steal but with a view to persuading the school to take him back. He also had an offence of aggravated burglary but that involved entering premises to steal food and finally there was an offence of assult occasioning actual bodily harm upon a 13 year old youth as a result of the victims alleged name-calling. The offences were dealt with by imposing a conditional discharge and successive attendance orders. At the time of the murder, as a result of urgent representations by the Youth Justice Service for Berkshire a social worker had been allocated to Mr Malik and plans were being made for a residential placement in the Midlands.
12. His present solicitors accept, as did his previous solicitors that a tariff of 12 years may seem lenient for the offence but they point out that the effect of the sentence has been greater for Tahir Malik because of the condition from which he suffers. They suggest if he were to be released following a shorter term of imprisonment he would have been sufficiently punished. They point to the fact that he has still extreme difficulties in relating to others and the one other patient at the hospital who speaks his language has different customs form Tahir Malik so they do not associate. Because of the distance from where Tahir Malik's family lives he rarely has visits from his family. They do stress the one point in his favour, that is that he now accepts that he did commit the murder.
The Victim's Family
13. To assist me with my task, the victim's father was seen on 20 March 2001. The father, Mr Razzaq indicated that he considered a tariff of 12 years too low. He did, however, say that over time he and his family had come to accept the defendant could be released after 12 years. He indicated that to change that expectation would have a devastating affect on the family.
14. He went on to describe the difficulties there would be if Tahir Malik were to return to the Slough area. Mr Razzaq added that the family were of the view that Tahir Malik had been suffering from severe mental illness at the time of his offence and this belief had gone someway to helping them come to terms with what he had done. They believed that he was not wholly responsible for his actions. When he became aware of a reference to "mild mental impairment" this was a shock to Mr Razzaq and made his early release all the more unpalatable.
15. The information which was available to the head of the trials unit of the Crown Prosecution Service at Thames Valley almost certainly did not include the information now contained in the reports at Rampton.
My Conclusions
16. The medical information which is now available but was not available when the tariff was originally set at 12 years does place a different complexion on this case. It does not provide any defence to the offence of which Tahir Malik was convicted, nor does it excuse that offence which was a grave offence indeed. However it does make the offence more understandable. I have therefore given very careful consideration whether it justifies a reduction in the tariff of 12 years. The conclusion which I have come to is that it does not justify a reduction. This is going to be a case when in any event, even after 12 years, it is going to be difficult to decide that the risk to the public is sufficiently low to justify Tahir Malik's release back into the community. In his own interest, as well as the interests of the public, a degree of security is likely to be thought necessary. However, the setting in which Tahir Malik should continue to be detained does create special difficulties and therefore I express the hope, while I am not recommending a change in the tariff, the Home Secretary will keep under review the conditions in which Tahir Malik is detained. Although the improvements so far have been limited, I hope that they will continue and if they do, this may justify his transfer to a more appropriate place of detention than Rampton, if such a place exists.
17. Finally, when Mr Beltrami, Head of Trials Unit, saw Mr Razzaq, he was unaware that Tahir Malik had been diagnosed as autistic. In view of Mr Razzaq's concern about the reference to "mild mental impairment" Mr Beltrami may want to consider whether Mr Razzaq would wish to be aware of this condition from which the person responsible for the death of his son was suffering.