Mom’s DIY Pest Fix Kills Girl on Birthday in Tower Hamlets
A Tower Hamlets woman has been handed a suspended jail sentence after her illegal pest control job led to the death of her 11-year-old neighbour, Fatiha Sabrin. Jesmin Akter, 34, imported deadly poison to tackle bedbugs – but instead sparked a lethal gas leak that ended a young girl’s life.
Illegal Gas Mistake Sparks Fatal Neighbourhood Tragedy
Akter brought aluminium phosphide into the UK from Italy without a licence. She spread pellets around her flat to wipe out bedbugs, then left her family out for 24 hours. Unbeknownst to her, the chemical reacted with moisture, releasing phosphine gas – a toxic substance likened to chemical warfare agents.
The gas seeped into neighbouring flats at Nida House, killing Fatiha on her birthday, December 11, 2021. Another child was hospitalised in the fallout.
Court Drama: Judge Slams Landlord and Warns of Catastrophe
At the Old Bailey, Judge Alexia Durran criticised the landlord’s “cursory” pest control efforts. She warned that flying with such a deadly substance in hand luggage could have sparked a “catastrophic mid-air incident putting hundreds of lives at risk.”
“Fatiha died on her 11th birthday. It is now a date that haunts her family,” said Judge Durran. “The sentence I impose will not bring Fatiha back and will seem inadequate to Fatiha’s family.”
Akter admitted manslaughter by unlawful act and illegal import of a regulated substance. She was sentenced to two years in jail, suspended for two years, plus 150 hours of unpaid work.
Tragic Details: Calls for Help Ignored Before Girl’s Death
Akter initially lied to police about where she got the poison, later confessing her mother smuggled it from Bangladesh via Italy. Prosecutor James Dawes KC revealed Akter’s poisonous bedbug pellets released lethal gas levels — between two and 26 times the fatal dose in Fatiha’s flat.
On her birthday, Fatiha vomited and fell ill. Despite calls to her GP and emergency services, her health plummeted. When paramedics arrived the second time, she had stopped breathing and later died in hospital.
London Fire Brigade declared a hazardous materials incident and confirmed the presence of aluminium phosphide poison.
Akter’s Apology: ‘I Didn’t Know It Was Dangerous’
In court, Akter expressed deep remorse. “I did not know the product contained a dangerous poison,” she said. She blamed the landlord’s failed pest control for forcing her desperate actions.
Akter apologised to Fatiha’s family, admitting they had “paid the price” for her mistake. But nothing can undo the loss of a bright young life on a day meant to be joyful.
