Qld: Man told wife of romantic surprise before stabbing her

AAP General News (Australia)
04-21-2006
Qld: Man told wife of romantic surprise before stabbing her

By Suzanne Klotz

BRISBANE, April 21 AAP - A man blindfolded his wife and told her he had a romantic
surprise for her before stabbing her in the stomach, a court has been told.

Saiyad Jabbar, 27, of Regents Park on Brisbane's southside, pleaded guilty today in
the Brisbane District Court to causing grievous bodily harm with intent on October 4,
2004.

The court heard Jabbar had arrived home early and told his wife Shabana Nisha that
he had an early birthday present for her.

Prosecutor David Meredith told the court that he took her into their bedroom, laid
her on the bed, tied her hands with a scarf and blindfolded her with another one and then
put the romantic 1994 chart topping hit, I Swear, by the band All-4-One, on the CD player.

Mr Meredith said he then kissed her on the forehead and sang the last verse of the
song to her, before he jumped on her and stabbed her in the stomach.

Shabana, now aged 26, struggled with him and managed to hit him over the head with
a perfume bottle before running out into the street and getting help from a passing postman.

Shabana, a Fijian Indian who had an arranged marriage with Jabbar in 2001, suffered
a three centimetre wound to her abdomen and a laceration to her bowel.

They lived in a luxury house and she had been under the illusion that they had a happy marriage.

Jabbar -- who had worked in a call centre -- had told Shabana he had a new job with
the Commonwealth Bank, even going to the lengths of fabricating a letter which said he
would eventually earn $200,000 a year.

Mr Meredith said the motive for the attack appeared to be the unravelling of a web
of lies that Jabbar had told his wife -- particularly because they were due to leave for
a holiday in Fiji which he couldn't pay for.

"The event is inexplicable other than as an attempt to hide his lies and thereby avoid
disappointing his wife," Mr Meredith said.

The couple have since separated and Shabana lives in fear of her husband at a secret address.

Judge Ian Wylie adjourned the sentence indefinitely for a current psychiatric report
because he wanted to take Jabbar's recovery into account in sentencing.

AAP smk/sc/jt/jlw

KEYWORD: JABBAR

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