Gambling Addict Stabbed Wife Nearly 60 Times

A man described as a gambling addict has been found guilty in court of stabling his wife to death after flying into a rage following a lost bet.

Jalal Uddin, 47 of East London, chopped and hacked at his wife’s head, neck, face and back. 31-year-old Asma Begum was struck a minimum of 58 times inside their shared flat in Canning Town in what was a frenetic attack.

Wife Had Warned of Attacks

Begum had previously informed local police that her husband had beat her before after they’d argued about money, all connected to Uddin’s unchecked gambling habit.

Bangladeshi national Uddin had denied murder at his trial at the Old Bailey but has been convicted by a jury who deliberated for three hours, the 47-year-old having admitted to manslaughter.

Uddin has since been jailed for life for the murder of his wife, a sentence he plans to appeal, with the court also hearing how his wife had often relented to give him money to fund his habit in order for him to stop hitting her.

Uddin’s Habit Was Well Known

Uddin was apparently well known to employees of his local William Hill betting shop where staff knew him as the “Angry Indian” owing to him losing his temper and hitting the gaming machines when he was losing money.

Such machines have of course now been subject to stake cuts, the government this year reducing the maximum stake on FOBT’s, or fixed-odds betting terminals, to £2 from £100 in order to curb such habits.

One William Hill employee spoke at Uddin’s trial about watching him splurge more than £1000 in a single session on the machines. Financial inquiries have also revealed that even after his wife’s death he managed to default on a £16,000 loan dating back to September 2016.

Staff at the shop saw him come into their branch with £200 he had apparently been sent to take from Mrs Begum’s account by her in order to pay for the family’s food and general expenses.

William Hill were asked for records during the trial but they did not show whether or not Uddin won or lost during his first half an hour at the shop, though they did reveal that at some point he used his own debit card to get £40 credit loaded onto a roulette machine, an amount he lost within ten minutes.

The Couple Argued

After his loss at the machines, Uddin was said to have returned home with around £20 worth of groceries and no extra money. At that point, understandably, the couple argued.

Mrs Begum called her nephew in a very upset state and informed him that Uddin had lost £200 to gambling and that he had hit her afterwards. The next day her brother received a call from Uddin’s brother in Bangladesh asking him to check on the pair as they were known to be fighting.

Her nephew, who had also received similar calls, arrived at the couple’s flat and at that point found Mrs Begum dead on the kitchen floor. The attack was so bad that Mrs Begum’s arm had almost been amputated at the wrist. She had been stabbed and slashed at least 58 times.

This horrific attack further highlights the need for tighter gambling restrictions, as the focus thus far has been on the addict themselves being the victim, however it is often those around them that suffer most.