A Birmingham husband who 'destroyed' his wife's face with hot cooking oil has been handed a huge jail sentence. Raju Mollah, 50, tried to kill Mosammed Mumtaz at their home in Heather Road in Small Heath amid a divorce row.
Without warning he tipped oil over her head in the kitchen before picking up a 'red hot' skillet from the stove and shoving it into her face like a form of 'branding'. Mollah banged Mrs Mumtaz's head off hard surfaces and smothered and rammed her face with a mop. Finally, he stamped and kicked on her multiple times.
Following a trial, Mollah was found guilty of attempted murder. Today, Friday, April 24, he was sentenced to 26 years at Birmingham Crown Court. He was told he could expect to spend two-thirds of the term - 17 years and four months - in custody before release.
In a heartbreaking statement Mrs Mumtaz said: 'He has destroyed my life, my family and my face.' She confirmed she no longer left the house, had left college and could no longer bear to look at her own face in the mirror. Mrs Mumtaz further outlined her ongoing physical and psychological difficulties from the attack.
She added: 'The only good thing to come from this is my divorce. I'm free of him and have a new life. This isn't a life I want. He's destroyed my life. He did an evil, nasty thing.' Mrs Mumtaz spoke of her previous hopes of going into teaching but said: 'However I'm a prisoner in my own home. I can't and won't go out. I didn't do anything wrong, why has this happened to me?'
Mollah and Ms Mumtaz shared three children and had been married 23 years. He had never previously committed a crime or been violent to his wife but in December 2024 he demanded a divorce over a property in Bangladesh he had given to her. But Ms Mumtaz refused.
Emergency services were then called to their home in Small Heath at 7.10pm on January 12, 2025. Paramedics found Mrs Mumtaz lying on the kitchen floor surrounded by hot oil. Her face was covered with blood and oil.
Earlier that evening Mrs Mumtaz had been ill and had asked Mollah to clean chicken for her to cook later on. She then came into the kitchen and noticed he had put a large amount of oil in a pan which he was heating up.
Judge Richard Bond, passing sentence, said: 'There was no argument between you while she was washing a utensil with her back turned to you. You calmly picked up the pan and poured the burning hot oil over her head. Nothing had been said or done to indicate you were about to carry out this attack. You then picked up a red hot skillet from the gas ring on the stove and put it on her face with the intention of burning her skin. You were successful in that regard. It was almost as if you were branding her.'
He continued: 'She dropped to the ground, you grabbed her hair and banged her head and face against hard surfaces. During this continued attack you picked up a mop and essentially put it over her nose and mouth but then with force you rammed it into her face. Finally, you kicked and stamped on her head on many occasions. Your victim was conscious throughout.'
Mrs Mumtaz was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She suffered a number of damaged teeth, swelling and cuts to her head and a nasal fracture. Judge Bond described her burn injuries as 'horrific' as he told Mollah: 'You have permanently disfigured your wife's face and body.' He imposed an indefinite restraining order banning Mollah from contact with his wife and youngest children.
He had summoned help from a neighbour but lied that the incident was an accident. Mollah subsequently wrote a number of letters in a bid to convince his wife not to tell the truth about what had happened. Mrs Mumtaz stated she has since been shunned by many of her friends for her choice to 'seek justice' because they supported her husband.
Thomas Copeland, defending, said Mollah had 'always been a hard-working man'. He added: 'Although it is entirely his responsibility the impact on his children has been and continues to be immeasurable. He will have to try and rebuild the relationship with them. He has made progress in custody.'
