Bangladesh-origin chef cleared of chili powder assault in UK

A Bangladesh-origin chef at a curry restaurant in Wales was declared not guilty over an allegation of assaulting an unsatisfied diner by throwing chili powder on his face, reports Press Trust of India. A jury at Merthyr Crown Court produced the verdict after finding him innocent of the charges on Saturday. Kamrul Islam, 47, who owns an eatery called "Prince of Bengal" in Tonypandy, a small city in Wales which is best known as the site of the 1910 Tonypandy Riots, was accused of attacking David Evans inside the restaurant in January last year. According to Evans, he and his wife had gone to dine at the Prince of Bengal on January 22, 2017, when a dispute occurred between Evans and Kamrul over the quality of chicken served to him. "It tasted rubbery and like paraffin," said Evans. "It was shiny. I go to lots of Indian restaurants, and I have never tasted food like this before." However, Kamrul told the court that he was "very frightened" after the couple started shouting at him when he went to their table. He also claimed that when he was walking away, he could understand he was being followed. "I ran to get the chili powder because I wanted to get it before he [Evans] grabbed me," he said. According to a local newspaper, Kamrul said that he had thrown the chili powder at Evans' face in self-defense, as Evans followed him to the doorway of the kitchen and started shouting at him. After the attack, Evans doubled up in pain, and was immediately taken to the hospital for treatment. He was also said to have suffered burns on the places where the spice landed. Kamrul was arrested in the same evening. Jurors declared Kamrul not guilty today after the defence showed them a CCTV footage which proved their claim that Kamrul had not caused any actual bodily harm to Evans, and had acted purely out of self-defence.