A MAN accused of torturing his girlfriend and slicing her tongue in half, in a case described by a magistrate as the worst she has seen in her 10 years on the bench, has been refused bail by a Gold Coast Court.
Mohamad Tasleem Tahir, 21, appeared in Southport Magistrates Court today on video link from prison on one charge of torture, one of committing acts intended to disfigure, and one of causing grievous bodily harm. In opposing a bail application, prosecutor Sergeant Brian Cazzulino told the court Mr Tahir had given no indication of regretting the horrific injuries he’s accused of inflicting on his girlfriend.
“He has not shown any remorse while in prison, and refuses to believe he has committed an offence,” he said. Sgt Cazzulino said it would be alleged that during the attack Mr Tahir used a knife to slice open the corners of his girlfriend’s mouth, cut her tongue in half, fractured her eye socket by beating her face with an empty Bundaberg Rum bottle, and finally dragged her to a bedroom where he tried to strangle her.
He said a doctor at Gold Coast Hospital told police the injuries were the worst she had seen in five years of working in the emergency department. Sgt Cazzulino said the young woman, covered in blood and struggling to remain conscious, pretended to be lifeless after being strangled. “She heard the accused speaking on the phone after the attack. He told that person he had just killed someone and asked them to look after his family,” he told the court.
Sgt Cazzulino told the court Mr Tahir’s girlfriend changed her name by deed poll, changed her phone number three times, and moved from Adelaide to the Gold Coast to escape her boyfriend who he said had been charged with stalking her and was “a person who uses intimidation to get what he wants”.
He also said South Australian police have a warning on their computer system that Mr Tahir was likely to report his girlfriend missing as a ploy to get her phone number. The prosecutor argued that Mr Tahir, who is of Fijian descent, could flee to Fiji where he has family. In refusing bail Magistrate Catherine Pirie described the alleged attack as “horrifying and brutal”.
“I have been on the bench for more than 10 years and I have not seen anything like this,” she said. “The weight of the prosecution’s case is exceedingly strong and if convicted the accused would face a significant custodial sentence; it would be entirely inappropriate to grant bail.”
The case has been listed for mention on December 23.
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