Sentence doubled in West Bromwich iron 'branding' case

Last updated at 16:39 GMT, Wednesday, 24 February 2010

An abusive husband who "branded" his wife's face with an iron has had his sentence doubled by the Appeal Court.

Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, personally appeared at the London court to seek an increase to Harpal Singh Moore's two-and-a-half year term.

Moore, 36, of West Bromwich, was jailed in September after admitting grievous bodily harm with intent.

Lady Justice Hallett said five years was "the very least that could and should have been imposed".

'Sustained cruelty'

At Wednesday's hearing Lady Justice Hallett and two other judges at the Court of Appeal agreed with Baroness Scotland that the jail term imposed in September last year was "unduly lenient".

She said: "The days when incidents of violence within the home were dismissed by many as 'just another domestic' are long gone."

She added five years was "the very least that could and should have been imposed" in Moore's case for what she described as a brutal, sustained act of cruelty.

Moore, who lived in the Tame Bridge area, had switched on an iron at their home and held it to his wife's face four to five times, leaving it on her skin for two to three seconds each time.

She has been left with permanent scarring and describes herself as a "broken woman".

Baroness Scotland, the government's chief law officer, said "a victim who happens to be in an intimate relationship deserves no less consideration than if this had been visited on her, or him, by a stranger".

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8534797.stm