Former employee tells Falkirk curry house: ‘Give me £2000 to stop bad things from happening’

After being let go by another employer, jobless Mohammed Ali (48) rang up the Sanam restaurant and said he wanted the cash to stop “something bad from happening”. Ali had turned to alcohol when he lost his job as a result of his ongoing “quarrel” with the Sanam.

Ali appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday, having pled guilty to behaving in a threatening manner, making a phone call to the Sanam, Callendar Road, Falkirk, on December 17, 2017, and threatening to damage property if he did not get the cash he demanded.

Ashley Smith, procurator fiscal depute, said: “The witness worked as a waiter at the Callendar Road premises. He answered a telephone call from the accused, who said ‘don’t say my name’ and then said ‘you know who I am’.

“He thereafter demanded £2000 to ‘stop something bad from happening’.”

The court heard there had been a dispute between Ali and the owners of the Sanam, where Ali had previously worked for around a year.

Ali’s defence solicitor said: “There was a history of bickering and this was a quarrel between two parties. They felt Mr Ali had taken business away from them when he left to work for a local competitor.”

He added Ali’s new bosses felt there was too much going on between Ali and his previous employers at the Sanam and they let him go.

“He was left unemployed with no income and he turned to drink.”

It was stated Ali was now staying with his brother at 52 Millhouse Drive, Glasgow and was due to start a new job working in a shop.

Sheriff John Mundy said: “This was a remarkably stupid thing to do. You haven’t done anything like this before according to your record, but you cannot go around doing this sort of thing.”

Ali was fined £300 and ordered to pay it off at a rate of £15 per week.