Peterborough man jailed for brandishing meat cleaver in fight outside takeaway

Mohammad Qadeer, of Kesteven Walk, Peterborough, was involved in a scuffle outside Chicken Hut, in Cattle Market Road, Peterborough city centre, at about 12.25am on 6 June this year.

A group of men were seen pushing and shouting at each other and a fight broke out.

During the incident some men returned with weapons such as wooden chair legs – but these were not used to assault anyone.

Qadeer, (23), then appeared brandishing a large meat cleaver and used this to make slashing motions towards other men in the group.

He was arrested a short while later on suspicion of affray and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

In police interview, Qadeer claimed he was attacked earlier in the evening and therefore picked up the weapon from inside the chicken shop for self-defence.

He said some of the men in the group were known to him and he believed them to be the same men who had attacked him earlier.

The earlier attack left Qadeer with a fractured jaw, fractured cheek, a black eye and bruising.

Qadeer told officers he only had the meat cleaver to ‘scare’ the men off and wouldn’t have used it to hit anyone, but did admit swinging it around.

At a previous court hearing Qadeer pleaded guilty to affray and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court on Friday (5 July), where he was handed 12 months in prison.

DC Louis Scott, who investigated, said: “There was absolutely no excuse for Qadeer’s behaviour in this incident, nor is there any excuse for carrying an offensive weapon in public.

“Tackling serious street-based violence is a force priority and we will continue to do all we can to take as many offensive weapons off the streets of Cambridgeshire as possible.”

The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife or other offensive weapon in public is four years in prison and a fine of £5,000.

Know someone who carries a weapon? Please help us tackle serious street-based violence and report it to us by calling 101 or visiting www.cambs.police.uk/report. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.