Indian-origin man handed suspended sentence for attacking UK teen

London, July 15 (IANS) The UK police have released a picture of an Indian-origin man in England who stalked and attacked his former girlfriend in 2021 as she boarded a bus in a bid to get away from him.

Dylan Singh, 23, got on the same bus before following the teenage victim into a property where he beat her, leaving her with a black eye and bruises in West Bromwich, the Birmingham Live reported on Friday.

Singh appeared at the Wolverhampton Crown Court recently, where he avoided immediate jail time for his offending.

The court heard that Singh met the victim on Snapchat and was in a relationship with her for about two months.

The relationship became 'toxic', with the victim describing how Singh "always wanted to know where she was".

The victim was at the West Bromwich town centre with her young nephew when she spotted Singh at the bus station on December 21, 2021.

He followed her throughout the journey, right from the time she boarded the bus to avoid him, till she entered her sibling's flat.

He then grabbed her mobile and spotted a message which described the victim as "good-looking" and flew into a violent rage, slapping, hitting and also biting her, prosecutor Amiee Parkes said.

Singh grabbed the victim, threw her to the floor and kicked her "with a shod foot", and when the victim told Singh she felt dizzy, the defendant told her "it was her own fault".

He also told her he had "learned his lesson not to go out with white girls".

"The incident of abuse I suffered at the hands of Singh has caused me to be fearful of meeting new people and starting new relationships," the victim said in a statement.

"It took me a very long time to leave the house on my own, I always had somebody with me."

Singh was convicted by jurors of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage of the phone.

District Judge Lower said there was an "element of control" when Singh followed his victim on and off the bus.

"This was, in my view, a prolonged assault upon her because there was a break between the beginning and end of the offence."

Singh was handed a two-year sentence, suspended for two years.

He was also subjected to a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement, 200-hours unpaid work, and a restraining order.