Batley couple is jailed after perverting the course of justice to try and evade speeding fine

The West Yorkshire Prosecutions and Casualty Prevention Unit, which works to make roads safer, has warned those who try to avoid justice will be found out following the latest case at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday July 6.

Fazila Loonat, 43, and Afshin Amini, 34, both of Church Walk, Batley were given sentences of 14 weeks and 12 weeks in prison after admitting Perverting the Course of Justice related to a speeding incident in July 2020.

The court heard that a Mercedes C220 car insured to the pair triggered a mobile speed camera on the A644 Huddersfield Road, Dewsbury on July 5, 2022

Officers trying to establish the driver of the car were given details for a person who didn’t exist, and then later told it had been taken for a test drive by this person on the date the offence was committed.

The address provided for the driver was a mini-mart which later turned out to belong to the pair.

Both parties stood by the claim and were both later charged with Perverting the Course of Justice. They pleaded guilty to the offence prior to Thursday’s hearing.

The Digital Submission and Investigations team itself was formed in 2019 to investigate attempts to deny being behind the wheel at the time of traffic offences.

It is part of the West Yorkshire Casualty Prevention Partnership which aims to prevent deaths and serious injuries on the roads of West Yorkshire by ensuring those who choose to commit traffic offences are prosecuted for their actions.

Cases investigated by the unit have resulted in more than twenty years in jail time being handed out to defendants so far.

Rachel Wainwright of West Yorkshire Police’s Casualty Prevention Unit, said: “Perverting the course of justice is a serious offence and those who lie to us to try and avoid prosecution should be fully aware of the penalties they can face.“In this case both the defendants made false statements and then made a number of efforts to substantiate the deception, wasting police time in investigating the stories put forward.“They have now had to appear before a court to answer for this and face punishment."

She added: “West Yorkshire Police and partners work hard to make our roads safer and a key part of this is deterring speeding and encouraging drivers to use our roads safely.“I continue to urge anyone who has footage of traffic offences or dangerous driving to submit it to our Safer Roads Submissions portal at Safer Roads Media Submissions on westyorkshire.police.uk.”