Prison sentence for stepmother (From Ealing Times)

Prison sentence for stepmother

1:11pm Friday 7th September 2007 in News By Alex Hayes

AN ACTON stepmother who tortured her husband's baby son to death will spend at least four-and-a-half years behind bars a court has ruled.

Sumairia Parveen, 24, burnt 17-month-old Tahla Ikram with a cigarette and sliced open his leg repeatedly until his tendons and veins were exposed.

Today (Friday, September 7), at Southwark Crown Court she was sentenced to nine years in prison for causing or allowing the child's death.

Tahla's father, Abid Ikram, 30, was also sentenced to nine years for the same offence.

During sentencing, the judge said both must serve at least half before they are eligible for parole.

Ikram was also sentenced to a further 12 months in prison for perverting the course of justice.

Ikram and Parveen, both unemployed, live in Cheltenham Place, Acton.

The pair were acquitted of murder in August, but faced a possible 14 years in prison for causing or allowing Tahla's death.

This is understood to be the first time anyone has been convicted of the latter.

During the case it emerged the child had been taken to Ealing Hospital in west London six times and was seen by at least seven different doctors in the 20 days leading up to his death.

His many injuries included a broken thigh bone, shin bone and three fractured ribs.

Many of his injuries were ignored for days, causing him to scream as his broken bones ground together.

A doctor who examined the baby said he looked like a car accident victim.

More updates to follow shortly.