A successful East London garage owner was kidnapped by a violent, ruthless gang motivated by "sheer greed" who poured boiling water on him during a three-day ordeal while demanding ransom payments, a jury have been told.
Father-of-two Sukjinder Seyan - boss of 'Prestige Car Specialists', Balmoral Road, Forest Gate - needed skin grafts to his legs after his rescue by Scotland Yard's Kidnap Unit and is scarred for life.
Two alleged members of the gang, Ashley Fields, 22, (pic.l.) of Crescent Road, Dagenham and 27 year-old Safeer Rahman (pic.r.) of Tumulus Way, Colchester, Essex deny involvement in the plot.
"To put it bluntly he was tortured," prosecutor Mr. Roger Smart told the Croydon Crown Court jury. "The motive was one of sheer greed.
"They thought it would be easy money to take a local businessman and brutally harm the hostage until a substantial amount of money was exchanged for his release."
The court was told mobile phone records link both defendants with the rest of the gang and Rahman - who knew the victim - was the job's "inside man" providing information on Mr. Seyan.
"This group of people thought long and hard about what they were doing," explained Mr. Smart. "There was reconnaissance and one failed attempt before they regrouped on another day.
"They had a stronghold where they kept Mr. Seyan, they had equipment there, held him there and made him call people to get money and brutally assaulted him.
"Mr. Seyan was held for three days and was badly burned by boiling water being poured over him on a number of occasions.
"He has had to undergo surgery to graft skin over the burns and is permanently scarred as a result."
The victim was held at Express Drive, Ilford by other members of the gang who have already been convicted and neither Fields or Rahman is accused of physically harming him.
Fields' role is alleged to be as a "look out" and general assistant to the plan and Rahman was with the victim minutes before he was abducted - allegedly feeding information to his co-conspirators.
Other gang members, armed with a fake police warrant card, approached Mr. Seyan on January 8, last year and bundled him into a vehicle while demanding £350,000 from his safe.
At the 'stronghold' he was pushed onto a mattress and a blanket was thrown over his head, before the gang boiled a kettle of water and poured it over Mr. Seyan's leg and ankle.
He was gagged and bound with tape before a second kettle of boiling water was poured over his left leg and the next day more boiling water was poured over his left arm.
On January 9 Mr. Seyan's wife received a £50,000 ransom demand and immediately called the police who tracked the victim's location via mobile phone signals.
The gang also phoned the victim's girlfriend, demanding the same sum, and frustrated by a lack of progress poured boiling water over his back.
Mr. Seyan was rescued by police, back-up by armed officers, as he sat in a car with his captors outside Arthur Wallis House.
Both Fields and Rahman have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to kidnap, falsely imprison and blackmail on or before January 10, last year.
Trial continues………….
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