Bolton: Teen robbed couple at knifepoint in Queens Park

The couple had been sitting on a bench in Queens Park, Bolton at around 2pm when Saif Tariq, 18, approached them having recognised them from their time together at college and walked off again appearing to be ‘smirking’ to himself.

A few minutes later he was back and while armed with a kitchen knife took out his phone and appeared to film himself robbing the couple, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Brian Berlyne, prosecuting, said: “They both state that they did not feel safe after the incident, that the they were afraid to go out of the house and that they have had trouble sleeping.”

The couple were robbed in Queens Park (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Berlyne told the court how during the robbery on September 5 last year Tariq had forced the young man to get down on his knees and apologise for some perceived slight and took his watch and chain together valued at around £300.

He was then seen ‘laughing as he ran off’ but was arrested two days later.

Police then searched Tariq’s home were they found the knife, a snap bag of cannabis and the stolen watch and chain.

Tariq, of Cranberry Drive, Bolton, admitted that the cannabis was his, which he said was for personal use, and in an interview with police denied having been involved in the robbery.

But he then pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of a knife and possession of cannabis at the first opportunity.

Kevin Lister, defending, accepted the seriousness of the crime but argued it was ‘not as straightforward as it seems.’

He told the court that the robbery was an ‘isolated incident’ and that Tariq, who has no previous convictions, had been of good character beforehand.

Mr Lister also argued that Tariq’s ‘low IQ’ meant that did not have the same capabilities as other people his age.

He said: “He is operating, respectfully, at an IQ below the level of a standard 18-year-old.”

He added: “This offence was no premeditated, it was a chance encounter.”

Mr Lister added that Tariq had been judged to be at low risk of reoffending and that he has been ‘sincerely remorseful for his crimes and there effect on the young couple.

But Recorder Andrew McLoughlin said that he did not accept Tariq’s ‘borderline’ learning disability was linked to his crime.

He said: “This was a young couple in Queens Park, sat on a bench minding their own business.”

Addressing Tariq, Recorder McLoughlin turned to how he had forced the young man to his knees in the course of the robbery.

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He said: “There may have been a background to this and you may have been seeking to humiliate him over some perceived issues you were having with him.”

He added: “It would appear that you spied an opportunity to confront him, rob him and humiliate him.”

Recorder McLoughlin sentenced Tariq to a total of 32 months in a young offenders institute and ordered that the knife and cannabis be destroyed.