Wok Are The Injuries?: Judge Demands Kitchen Boiling Oil Update

Guilty: Jinhee Yoo

A judge has demanded a burns update on the victim of a Korean restaurant cook, who doused the chef in a wok of boiling oil, after a defence lawyer claimed there was “no permanent injury.”

Jinhee Yoo, 37, was due to be sentenced for GBH, but will return to court next month after an update on the recovery progress of her victim.

Chef Lim Gye suffered extensive burns at the Jin Go Gae restaurant in Burlington Road, New Malden - injuries that have required skin grafts.

Mother-of-one Yoo, of The Avenue, Worcester Park, Leeds fought the charge, but was convicted by a Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court jury of inflicting grievous bodily harm, with intent, at the restaurant on May 23, 2022.

She claimed self-defence, insisting she feared being stabbed by Ms Gye, who was chopping onions, but this was rejected by jurors.

Yoo was due to be sentenced this week and her lawyer Joao Arsenio submitted the victim had recovered from the ugly incident, saying: “The complainant has no permanent injury.

“Serious as the injuries are the healing is complete. That is my perception.”

However, Judge Rajeev Shetty replied: “Have you seen people close up with skin grafts? They are significant.”

Prosecutor Peter Pride told the court: “This is a grave injury that resulted in significant long-term injury.”

The prosecutor said the victim’s husband has stated his wife has been depressed since the incident, has gained weight, suffered stress that has spread amongst the family and is still waiting for an apology from Yoo.

“These things are permanent, irreversible,” announced Judge Shetty. “We saw her face-to-face, but that is the area she did not require a skin graft thankfully.

“If you want me to do justice to this case I need an answer. The court needs an update on her physically.

“When she was giving evidence I did not necessarily see how she looks as there are ways of covering yourself up in court when I was just twenty feet away.

“You get itching on scarring on the replacement sites with skin grafts.”

Mr Arsenio continued attempting to play down the injuries, claiming: “The lady didn’t display any scarring when she gave evidence from the witness box.

“There is no suggestion she is scarred for life.”

Bailing Yoo until November 27 Judge Shetty told her: “The prosecution do not have updated information as to Lim Gye’s injuries.

“I will give you bail. You have attended today and you do know you are facing an inevitable custodial sentence.”

Trial prosecutor Jonathan Rosen told the jury both women had previously worked together at the restaurant in 2017, with Yoo in the senior role.

When she returned she was now under head chef Lim Gye, who criticised her on the day of the attack for leaving the spice pots untidy.

There was a confrontation between the pair, with Yoo grabbing the head chef’s hair and them both rolling around on the kitchen floor.

Ms Gye bit Yoo’s finger in self-defence and they were pulled apart by other staff.

However, not long after they were again in the kitchen together following the lunchtime rush.

 

“She was boiling four to five litres of oil in the wok on the stove and Lim Gye was chopping onions,” explained Mr Rosen.

“They were back-to-back in the galley-style kitchen and Lim Gye thought it was odd she was boiling oil as there were no customers in the restaurant.”

Suddenly, Yoo shouted in Korean: “I can’t take it any longer,” turned and threw the wok full of boiling oil over the victim, burning her back, shoulder, chest, neck and arm.

Lim Gye recalled see Yoo standing there with the empty wok, challenging her to another fight and blocking her escape from the kitchen.

Lim Gye took a cold shower before being taken to hospital by the restaurant boss’s daughter, where she was treated for burns and blisters.

There were blisters to 70% of her back and 12% of her body was treated for burns, with a skin graft taken from her thigh during a second operation.

Yoo claimed a large chunk was bitten out of her finger by Lim Gye and she simply grabbed the closest thing to defend herself from a potential knife attack.

“This was a purposeful and deliberate action,” said Mr Rosen. “She had been boiling the oil for five minutes and there was no threat from a knife.”

Worth The Buzz?: Shoplifter Back Behind Bars

A shoplifter hoping to get buzzed on 15%ABV canned cocktails he flagrantly stole from a shop in the heart of the Square Mile was returned to prison.

Max Couthlan-Lawlar, 26, was recorded on CCTV filling a shopping bag with £72.00 worth of Buzzballz alcohol at the store in Fenchurch Street, City of London.

This CCTV still – recorded from above – shows the thief, who was wearing a baseball-style cap and shorts reaching into the fridge with his right hand and taking the drinks as other shoppers walked around.

Store staff recognised him when he returned to the same shop the following day and alerted police. 

Officers quickly located the thief and arrested him.

Couthlan-Lawlar, who was on parole, pleaded guilty to theft and received a fine, but was returned to custody for breaching the licence of his prison sentence.

Police Constable Skye Brincat, of the City of London Neighbourhood Policing team said:

“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. It directly impacts businesses, their staff and also shoppers.

“We never view shop theft as a low-level crime and our officers are proactively addressing this issue and working with stores across the City of London by identifying offenders quickly, gathering CCTV evidence and taking swift action against those who steal.

“We will continue our proactive measures in tackling shoplifting, including patrols in retail areas, and encourage retailers to come forward and report any crime so we can start investigations.”

Behind Bars: Getaway Drivers Guilty Of Violent City Of London Watch Robbers

Anderson (L) & Stewart (R)

Two getaway drivers, who were part of a violent knife-wielding watch robbery gang that struck twice within minutes in the heart of the Square Mile, have been caged.

Agandy Anderson, 30, (L) and Kayne Stewart, 27, (R) of Milton Way, Dunstable, were the drivers of two separate vehicles that prowled the City of London hunting for victims in the early hours.

Both pleaded guilty to robbery and Anderson received nine years and six months and Stewart received four years and six months in prison.

City of London Police believe Dogukan Aktas, 26, was also part of the group on the night of the robberies. 

He was last believed to be in Switzerland and officers have spoken to Interpol to assist in bringing him in for questioning. 

On September 8, 2024, just before 3.00am on Appold Street, two men and a woman were walking together following a night out. 

A BMW vehicle approached them at the traffic lights and two male suspects got out of the vehicle. 

The criminals begin to threaten the victims by brandishing knives and demanded their watches.

The suspects removed a Citizen watch worth around £400 from one of the male victims and stabbed him twice across the buttocks. 

In the scuffle the victim also sustained a head wound that bled heavily.

The female victim was kicked in the head by one of the suspects. 

The third victim was approached by one of the suspects who said: “Give me your watch,” putting the victim in a headlock and forcing his head toward the ground. 

The victim released the clasp on his Bulova watch, worth around £200 and the suspect then snatched it. 

Both robbery suspects are assessed to have been armed with a knife each, described by one victim as “zombie knives”. 

Five minutes after the first robbery the gang struck on Curtain Road at the junction of Scrutton Street and Holywell Row.

Two men and a woman were returning to their car when a BMW approached and two suspects got out of the vehicle shouting: “Give me your watch.” 

The victims described the suspects brandishing a zombie knife. 

One victim had his Tissot T-Classic watch, worth £400 stolen aggressively by the suspects and he was hit in the face.

Detective Sergeant Amy Westall, City of London Police, said: “These were exceptionally violent and frightening attacks in which the offenders showed a complete disregard for the safety of their victims. 

“Armed with knives, they targeted people going about their lives, stabbing one victim and brutally kicking a woman in the head in their determination to steal what they believed was high-value watches.

“Thanks to the courage and swift actions of the victims in reporting these crimes, and the vital evidence they provided, our investigation team was able to piece together exactly what happened. 

“Combined with the City of London’s extensive CCTV network, which captured both attacks just minutes apart, we were able to identify the offenders, track them down and ensure they faced justice.

The first victim said in his victim impact statement: “My overall feeling is of general fear, for my own safety in life, as well as being fearful of the safety of my loved ones.

“This incident has lifted away a blanket of blissful ignorance and now I really see what the world can be like and what others are capable of.

“I don’t trust any random person when I’m out in the street. 

“When someone walks past too closely, if someone is looking at me in a certain way, or has locked eyes with me for more than a second, I am nervous about what they might do.”

Greg Dyke Fined For Breaking 20MPH Speed Limit

Former Director General of the BBC Greg Dyke was fined yesterday after he was caught breaking the 20mph speed limit in his yellow Fiat 500 near his £5.5m Thameside home.

The 79 year-old veteran broadcaster, of Duck Walk, Twickenham did not contest speeding on the A205 Mortlake Road, near the junction with Taylor Avenue on June 6.

Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court were happy to revert the speeding charge to a fixed penalty ticket, resulting in a fine of just £72, plus a £28 surcharge and no costs.

However, Dyke, who went on to become Chairman of the Football Association between 2013-2016, did also received three penalty points on his driving licence for the offence.

Jailed Again: Specialist Thief Who Cut 17th Century Map From Museum Atlas

Prolific Thief: West

A career criminal, who cut a unique seventeenth century world map from a valuable atlas at the National Maritime Museum for a secret buyer, was sentenced to three years imprisonment today.

Melvin West, 70, used a Stanley blade to slice out the page, depicting Dutch cartographer Frederick de Wit’s double hemisphere 100 Nova Orbis - one of only three in the world.

“It is not just the financial damage, this is an international loss of an item of great cultural significance,” Woolwich Crown Court Judge Charlotte Welsh told him.

“What is lost and damaged is lost and damaged for evermore,” she told West, who between 1969 and 2015 was sentenced for a total of 107 offences in the UK and continental Europe.

He visited The Caird Library at the Greenwich museum on December 19 and 20, 2024 and on February 25, last year, before eventually cutting out the map when left alone on February 26.

“It has a value on the black market and must have been stolen with a buyer in mind and it is with regret we don’t know who you sold it to,” added Judge Welsh. “You have been evasive to say the least.”

West, of Old Church Road, Chingford, east London pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the antique atlas; stealing the antique map, worth £6,000 and being in possession of a yellow and black retractable Stanley knife.

Frederick de Wit is regarded as a master within the world of the ‘Dutch Golden Age’ of cartography, producing the atlas in 1684 with only two other examples in Utrecht and Vienna.

The museum estimated the atlas’s value at £50,000 - reduced to £20,000 after West’s damage with the map page alone worth £6,000 on the black market.

The Metropolitan Police say father-of-two West has a history of specifically stealing high-value unique items in this country and abroad.

West dangled the prospect of retrieving the map page he cut out, obtaining at least two court adjournments and even asking for another chance today to retrieve it.

“The defendant has led the court, the police and the museum on a merry dance. I don’t believe a word of it,” said Judge Welsh, refusing to give West another week to retrieve the map.

Cutting The Atlas: West

The court heard staff found the discarded blade and DNA linked it to West, who was also identified on CCTV as the last person alone in the reading room, where the atlas was damaged.

When police raided his home on March 4, last year officers searched for the map page, which West claims is with a restorer, who will not release it until he is paid in full.

The museum describes it as a “symbolic work of art” and the “harm goes far beyond the monetary value,” revealing they have invested £6,000 in new CCTV cameras and are considering a £5,000 security barrier.

“Mr West is ashamed and embarrassed by the offences and recognises he was wrong,” said Jessica Flain, defending, urging the court to pass a suspended prison sentence, which would allow her client to return the map.

“At the time he was under serious financial pressure and his pension credit did not meet his basic living costs. His offending was financially motivated.

“It was a short-term pressured decision by an old man living in difficult circumstances,” she said of the father-of-two, who had double heart by-pass surgery in June.

West has served lengthy prison sentences for drug dealing in this country, been locked-up in Hungary for burglary and sentenced for theft in France.

“You removed it with a slash of a blade you brought with you for that purpose,” Judge Welsh told West. “You were identified as the thief via DNA on the knife and recorded on CCTV.

“This was a planned offence and today you are again asking for time to retrieve the map from a nameless person, but you have had eight months do that when you were not in hospital or recovery.

“This item is of international cultural significance. It is unique, it is bespoke and experts from all over the world travel to Greenwich to study that map.

“You have a very, very long history of offending in this country and other European countries. You are a career criminal,” added the judge.

“You were stealing a highly significant niche item of high value. Someone stealing an item like that knows what damage they are causing.

“There was a high degree of planning and pre-meditation. You have not changed your ways, it is a reflection of who you are, a person of dishonest character.”

West was also made subject to a ten-year Criminal Behaviour Order, which prohibits him entering any museum or library room unsupervised.

Banned City Of London Thief Caught Stealing Bike

A bike thief, who flouted his Square Mile banning order when cutting a cycle lock with an angle grinder in busy Cheapside, has been jailed.

Christopher Forrester, 39, pleaded guilty to theft of the £1800 bicycle and breaching his Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).

He received a total of twenty-four weeks imprisonment.

On Tuesday, June 16 at approximately 6:15pm, Forrester was caught on CCTV cutting through a D-lock on a secured bike.

Two City of London Police officers were alerted of the attempted theft by members of the public.

When officers approached Forrester with tasers drawn he picked up the stolen bike and attempted to get away.

Officers chased and following some assistance from a member of the public, Forrester was arrested.

The bike, with a value of around £1,800, was returned to the owner.

Police Constable Izzy Grace, of the City of London Police, said: “This sentencing demonstrates that theft will not be tolerated and that offenders will be brought before the courts.

“Members of the public alerted our officers when they were carrying out patrols in the City and they immediately arrested the suspect.

“The City's extensive CCTV network remains an invaluable tool in helping us investigate offences and secure convictions. 

“We will continue to carry out proactive patrols, target offenders and use all available evidence-gathering opportunities to bring those responsible for crime to justice.”

Forrester was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to 24 weeks in prison for theft and 12 weeks in prison for breaching his CBO, which he will serve concurrently.

Party Is Over For Armed Square Mile Gunman

A gunman, who left his loaded firearm in a people carrier when City of London Police started questioning the driver, has been locked-up for five years.

Kaenan Dixon, 22, of Thurlow Park Road, Tulse Hill, south London had the gun and ammunition inside his blue Louis Vuitton man bag as CCTV captured him wandering up and down the busy late-night street in the heart of the Square Mile.

Crowds of people spilled into Jewry Street at 4.30am on August 17, 2024 after an event and after wandering around Dixon jumped into a Mercedes Vito van with multiple people. 

However, a female passenger told police in the area she had been assaulted by an individual in the van and officers approached and began questioning a man sitting on the front passenger seat.

Meanwhile, the rear passengers, including Dixon, exited the van and officers later found the firearm and ammunition.

Other bladed weapons were discovered inside and outside the vehicle.

DNA linked him to the firearm and Dixon booked a flight to Los Angeles on the same day.

At Inner London Crown Court he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm.

The suspected driver was arrested and interviewed and he denied any knowledge of the weapons seized. 

He said it was the first time he had ever met the individuals and didn’t know their names.

The Louis Vuitton man bag came back with a full DNA hit on Dixon, via the National DNA database. 

When officers trawled through the clear CCTV footage it showed Dixon wearing the man bag, pacing up and down the street.

Detective Constable Simon Gray, City of London Police, said: “Every illegal firearm we recover is potentially a life saved. 

“Guns have no place on the streets of the City, and we are relentless in our efforts to identify those who possess them and bring them before the courts.

“This case demonstrates the vital role that forensic science plays in modern policing. 

“DNA evidence provided the crucial link that enabled officers to identify and prosecute the offender, ensuring a dangerous weapon was removed from our streets.”

The Second Great Fire Of London: Five Years For Arsonist

An arsonist, who set ablaze a restaurant in the heart of the City of London, is starting a five-year prison sentence.

Ahmed Kawa, 35, fought the charge, but was convicted by an Inner London Crown Court jury of arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered when he started the fire in Lovat Lane.

Alvise Dal Mas’s Salotto 31 wine bar and restaurant was set alight on June 12, last year, causing £411,500 worth of damage.

In the victim impact statement Alvise said it hadn’t been an easy time for him, his family or the staff and after the fire he couldn’t sleep and would worry all the time.

CCTV footage captured the moment Kawa used a lighter to set fire to a bag of rubbish, before walking away. 

Minutes later, the fire caught on to outside tables and chairs, which soon erupted into flames.

The inferno smashed the windows of the building and then it spread inside the restaurant; incinerating furniture, electrical equipment and decorations. 

The heat of the fire also ruined bottles of wine and spirits.

Kawa’s image from the CCTV was shared across the force, triggering a coordinated response to find him. 

Plain clothed officers and dedicated ward officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team engaged directly with the homeless community to track him down.

Working with a local charity, who identified Kawa and his whereabouts, officers moved in to arrest him.

“This business is something I am proud to own. I worked really hard to get to where I am and to get the businesses to where it is… This is not just a business to me; it is like a home. It is my whole life and has my whole life inside,” Alvise said in his statement.

Salotto 31

Alvise was finally able to reopen his restaurant in December, 2025.

The Antiquarian Horological Society was also damaged in the fire, with the blaze causing £76,597 worth of damage to that building.

Detective Constable Eleanor Gill, at the City of London Police’s Criminal Investigations Department, said: “This dangerous act committed by Kawa could have been even worse and it was a miracle no one was seriously injured.

“Kawa deliberately started a fire and walked away, showing absolutely no regard for the safety of others. 

“The City’s CCTV network enabled us to identify the offender, track his movements and show him committing his crime on camera.

“We’re committed to working with and protecting local businesses and supporting those affected by crime during our enquiries to quickly identify suspects and bring them to justice.”

During the trial, the judge noted that the fire occurred near the origin of the Great Fire of London in 1666. 

Kawa was spotted on CCTV walking down Pudding Lane and drinking from the water fountain at the Monument, which commemorates the historic fire.

Accused Policeman Denies Works Christmas Party Grope

UPDATE: WILL PACKHAM WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY BY THE JURY AND REMAINS A PERSON OF GOOD CHARACTER 100% INNOCENT OF THE CHARGE

A drunken policeman groped a female officer’s chest on a cocktail bar’s dance floor during their Christmas party, a court heard.

Metropolitan Police officer Will Packham, 45, told the 24 year-old: “Do you know you’re really hot,” shortly after the incident, the Inner London Crown Court jury were told.

However, when questioned he said the female officer bent over in front of him on the dance floor and deliberately pushed her bum into his groin.

Officers attached to the Public Order Crime Team descended on Simmons Bar, near the Bank of England in the heart of the Square Mile on December 8, 2023.

“Obviously drinks were flowing and I drank a fair bit,” the policewoman told the trial in a video-recorded interview. “We all had a fair bit to drink.”

She told the jury she was dancing with a male officer, a platonic friend, when Packham, who had only been with the team for three weeks, came close.

“Will turns around and puts his hand on my boob and basically squashes it,” she explained. “I went to grab my coat to get out of there.

“You don’t touch me like that and he went to stop me and it was so loud and he said something like: ‘I didn’t mean it,’ kind of thing.

“I decided I needed to remove myself from that type of situation and he told me I was hot and should give my friend what he wants.

“He is a work colleague older than me. It is not appropriate at all, it is not good.

“There is a hand there. I can physically feel it and then a squashing like a ball.

“It was long enough that it was like two separate movements.

“It was half a second, not that long. I froze and always thought being in the job I’d know what to do, but I didn’t know what to do, I just froze.”

The officer said she deliberately decided not to make a scene at the time. “It may have ended up with all of us in custody and I didn’t want that at a Christmas party.

“I just needed to get out of there and get some fresh air.”

She had a vape outside the bar with a female colleague and revealed what happened on the dance floor, said prosecutor Charlotte Bull.

“She said it was not accidental and said: ‘Will touched my boob.’

“She decided to stay and not let Mr Packham ruin her night, but she found his comments creepy in light of how he treated her.

“She describes herself as ‘tipsy’ and borderline drunk, but always took steps not to get too drunk and would consume water between alcohol drinks,” added the prosecutor.

“The officer started dancing in a circle with others from the party and Mr Packham was standing next to her and then in front of her.

“While dancing Mr Packham put his right hand on her left breast and squeezed it and she describes it as ‘like squeezing a ball.’

“He held his hand for a second and squeezed it and it felt very deliberate, she says.”

The jury were told the complainant felt like ‘kneeing him in the groin’ or ‘smacking his face’ but decided against it due to the professional work environment.

“The second female officer noticed Mr Packham was very drunk and when the group made their way to the train station he had no idea how to get home.”

Packham, who described himself as “merry” that night, having consumed several beers, plus rum and coke was questioned five weeks later.

He answered everything put to him and denied groping the woman.

“He said she was dancing bent over double with her back to him while pushing her bottom into his groin and he raised his hands,” said Ms Bull.

“He denied touching her breast and telling her she was hot.” 

Packham, of Partridge Lane, Newdigate, Horsham, Surrey has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault.

Trial continues…….