A young Muslim woman who started a drunken brawl at a bowling alley has been allowed to wear an electronic ‘peace’ tag after she claimed it would interfere with her Friday prayer preparations.
Hossain Hussain, 20, had to wear the court-ordered device on her ankle after she floored venue manager Amy Singleton and shouted racial abuse before attacking police, calling them: ‘F******g white.’
But his lawyer Siraj Khan pleaded with the judges not to issue an alcohol abstinence order claiming Hussain had given up drinking and a tag would prevent him from completing ablution, the ritual washing performed by Muslims before prayers.
According to Islam, Muslims must be clean and well dressed before they present themselves before God.
Mr Khan told the court, ‘Since the incident his faith has become stronger. The prospect of wearing an alcohol monitoring tag has caused some concern for him as he now prays regularly and must wash himself thoroughly as part of it. He feels that unless he is able to remove this tag, he will not be able to come clean completely.’
Victim Amy Singleton (pictured) was assistant manager at Hollywood Bowling Alley in Ashton-under-Lyne when she was violently attacked by a drunk Hossain Hussain.
Hussain launched a drunken rampage, beating Ms Singleton before hurling racial abuse at police officers trying to arrest her, telling them: ‘F******g white people.’ Hussain, 20, pictured outside Tameside Magistrates’ Court in Greater Manchester
The attack took place at Hollywood Bowling Alley (pictured) in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, on September 18, 2022.
Hussain admitted assault by beating, assaulting an emergency worker and racially motivated harassment at Tameside Magistrates’ Court, from Oldham, Greater Manchester.
But although he was given a nine-month community order, he only had to complete 15 rehabilitation activity days as part of it – and no alcohol monitoring program was imposed.
Magistrates said the rehabilitation days, which would involve a series of face-to-face counseling sessions, would be sufficient to address Hussain’s alcohol problems.
He was fined £200 and ordered to pay £85 plus a £114 victim surcharge. Amy Singleton, assistant manager of Hollywood Bowling Alley in Ashton-under-Lyne, was ordered to pay £100 compensation and a further £100 compensation to PC Hutchenson who was assaulted during the incident.
Prosecutor James Hudson told the court the assault happened after assistant manager Mrs Singleton heard an ‘intoxicated’ woman using ‘loud profanity’ in the bowling alley at 6.45pm on September 18, 2022.
Mr Hudson told the court, ‘He asked the defendant to stop using foul language as the bowling alley was a family place.’ ‘But the accused refused to calm down and hit the complainant on the side of the face.
After that, there was a fight between the two. The accused then took the complainant to the floor. The pair had to be broken up by other people in the bowling alley.
The accused then ran and slapped the complainant on the face. He also grabbed her hair and pulled it for a few seconds.’
A drunken Hussain dragged Ms Singleton (pictured) to the floor and continued to slap her.
Hussain was given a nine-month community order but will only have to complete 15 rehabilitation activity days as part of it (Hussain pictured outside court)
As police arrived Hussain became aggressive, refused to calm down and tried to hit and kick PC Hutchenson ‘several times’, the prosecutor added.
‘As he was being arrested, the accused shouted ‘you white people, go away.’ He also said, ‘You stupid n*****rm******rf****r’ to Singleton,’ Mr Hudson said.
In her victim personal statement, Ms Singleton said: ‘This has left me sad and angry. I have worked here my whole life and this is the first time this has happened. I’ve never felt like this.’
Hussain has no prior convictions. In mitigation, his lawyer Mr Siraj Khan said his client had gone ‘cold turkey’ and stopped drinking since the attack.
He added: ‘There have been no further incidents with the police. He has tried to turn his life around and all this has been done without support. He’s diagnosed with PTSD, which is why he drank in the first place. It comes from the trauma he suffered as a child.’
Sentencing, JP Ronald Marshall told Hussain: ‘Days of rehabilitation will address the root problem, the root cause of alcohol. This is an isolated incident and you are of good character. This has been going on for quite some time now – put it behind you and move on.’
From March 2021, courts in England have been able to impose Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirements (AAMRs) if heavy drinking was a factor in an offender’s offending, AAMRs prohibit them from drinking alcohol for up to 120 days and offenders must undergo alcohol monitoring in their community. Tag as part of a sentence.
The tag takes a sample of the wearer’s sweat every 30 minutes and provides a continuous record of whether the offender has been drinking. If the tag detects alcohol or has been tampered with, an alert is sent to the testing service which can bring the offender back to court for non-compliance.