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Man threatens ex-wife in 650 phone calls in 12 days
A husband bombarded his ex-wife with hundreds of calls in just days after a decision about their divorce sent him into a rage.
Dan Hall
The SunDecember 13, 201910:22am
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Riffat Riaz said she was scared and became paranoid by her ex's behaviour. Picture: Cavendish PressSource:Supplied
A company director terrorised his ex-wife with 650 unwanted phone calls in just 12 days after she put their suburban family home on the market without consulting him.
Syed Ali, 44, repeatedly telephoned Riffat Riaz late into the night after learning their four-bedroom detached home was being advertised, The Sun reports.
"You have 24 hours to take the 'for sale' signs down – or there will be consequences," he warned her.
During his torrent of calls, Ali was said to be abusive to businesswoman Mrs Riaz, 43, and also accused her of letting two of their three children play truant from school.
He was initially given a warning after Mrs Riaz, a managing director of a lifestyle consultancy, went to police, but he was later arrested when the nuisance calls persisted.
Inquiries revealed he had called her 513 times in one three-day period alone.
In a statement, Mrs Riaz said: ''This pattern of behaviour had a huge impact on me as my ex-husband was constantly contacting me.
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Syed Ali wouldn't stop calling his ex, averaging more than 54 calls a day. Picture: Cavendish PressSource:Supplied
'I FEEL SCARED'
''Whilst on the outside I might look OK, inwardly I feel scared and can't do anything about it.
"I have three children to provide for, who the defendant is not helping with, and I am bringing them up alone.
"I've also since had to change my phone number.
"This has affected me personally. My confidence is now gone and I have become paranoid.
"It has taken me a long time for me to move on."
At Manchester Magistrates' Court Ali, who lives in an apartment in Rochdale, admitted harassment and was sentenced to 10 months jail suspended for 18 months.
He was also prohibited from contacting Mrs Riaz for two years under the terms a restraining order.
It is not known whether the £300,000 ($A572,000) property complete with ornamental fish pond is still up for sale.
Its location cannot be named for legal reasons.
The court heard the couple, who ran a number of marketing companies together, had been married for 16 years but split up last year.
The nuisance calls began on February 24 this year after Ali discovered his ex-wife had put their house up for sale.
Prosecutor Richard Greenhough said: "She received consistent calls from a 'No Caller ID', which she believed to be her ex husband.
"She believed this as she answered one call and recognised the voice as that of her ex husband who became verbally abusive to her."
In mitigation defence lawyer Ms Naila Akhtar said: "He was suffering with a mental breakdown, and a report said he also had difficulties with having access to his children.
"He has since suffered with insomnia. Last night he was up at 2am thinking about the court proceedings. His mental health is something he needs to deal with and is something he will have to do moving forward in his life."
Sentencing Ali, chair of the bench Hugh Keachie said: "These were persistent calls over a number of weeks and there was greater harm caused because of the distress caused to the victim and the effect it had on her life."
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