Isle of Sheppey: Violent Mugger Recaptured After Week On Run

29 October 2014, 11:52

A violent mugger who went on the run from Standford Hill Prison on the Isle of Sheppey has been arrested again.

Kent Police have confirmed they caught 39-year-old Sabul Miah last night, almost a week after he went missing.

Miah, originally from Poplar, was detained on the island on suspicion of failing to surrender to custody.

He was given two life sentences back in 2003 for for knife attacks on five pensioners.

He was originally charged with mugging 10 other pensioners, but the charges were not proceeded with and were left on the file.

One of his victims was decorated war hero George Rowe, whom Miah knifed in the chest and slashed his throat for his pension money.

Another elderly victim, Sarah Munday, was stabbed in the hand by Miah after he tried to snatch her bag as she returned with her pension cash in Tower Hamlets.

The court heard that Miah had targeted the pensioners as an easy source of money to fund his crack and heroin drugs habit.

Judge Geoffrey Rivlin said they were "heart-rending offences committed against some of the most vulnerable people in the community without the least sign of mercy".

HMP Standford Hill is the same Category D open jail from where Michael Wheatley absconded while on day release in May.

The prolific armed robber - dubbed the ''Skull Cracker'' for pistol-whipping bystanders during raids - went on to rob a building society in Surrey before being recaptured.

He was already serving 13 life sentences for a string of raids at the time of his disappearance, which triggered a nationwide manhunt.

Following his recapture, he was told he will serve at least 10 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.

Wheatley's high-profile case sparked a political row over the day release of dangerous inmates amid criticism that arrangements were too lax.

Sittingbourne and Sheppey Conservative MP Gordon Henderson said he has asked the Ministry of Justice a series of questions about Miah's case.

He demanded to know why a man handed two life sentences was transferred to an open jail and why the public were not immediately told of his disappearance.