11/12/08 Kidnapping charges dropped against couple

by Charles Sercombe

Kidnapping charges filed against a married couple involving the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl were dropped last Thursday in Hamtramck 31st District Court.

Hena Begum and her husband Mammur Khan were cleared of helping a friend, Jamrul Hussain, imprison the girl last February after the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office reviewed new evidence submitted by the couple’s attorneys.

Rape and kidnapping charges are still pending against Hussain, 24, but his preliminary examination was once again delayed pending a review of the same evidence. The review by the prosecutor’s office could lead to reduced charges. His next court appearance is Nov. 20.

His defense attorney, Sean Patrick Smith, told reporters after court proceedings that he expects charges to be reduced to his client having a sexual relationship with a minor, which is still a felony.

Smith told a group of reporters that this case boils down to the 15-year-old girl making false allegations out of spite because Hussain dumped her as a girlfriend. The girl initially told her family that she had run away but changed her story when she saw Hussain on television news reports regarding his involvement in the case of a missing 2-year-old girl from Hamtramck.

Hussain told police he was the last to see Tangena Hussain, who is not related to him, when he stopped at a Marathon service station on Greenfield near Eight Mile in Detroit on Oct. 2.

Hussain said he left Tangena in his car for a few minutes when he went inside the service station to buy some gum. When he returned to the car, he told police, Tangena was missing.

But investigators say the story is suspicious because Hussain then drove off without calling police and went to pick up the girl’s mother at Northland Mall where the mother works. Hussain is dating the girl’s mother. The mother called police once she found out the girl was missing.

Attorney Smith said the only reason his client is being held in jail is because investigators believe Hussain had something to do with the girl’s disappearance. Hussain has denied any involvement.

As for the kidnapping aspect, the married couple was charged because they initially gave investigators conflicting information. Their attorneys said it had to do with marriage papers that were supposed to be handed over to immigration officials. Khan is now being held in jail because he is facing immigration charges that could lead to his imprisonment or deportation.

Khan’s attorney, Dan Finwall, a former Hamtramck resident, said the charges have been a nightmare for the couple and will change their lives for the worse. He also said the couple has paid thousands of dollars in legal fees and now face losing their business, a Quiznos fast food restaurant.

“It’s been a life-changing experience, and I don’t think their lives will be the same again,” Finwall said about his clients.

As for Hussain, he, too, now has immigration issues.

Finwall said that when immigrants get tagged with felony charges, their immigration status comes under instant review – and this can lead to imprisonment or deportation.

Finwall said what’s also hindering the investigation into the kidnapping case and the missing girl is the nature of the Bengali community. He said the community is insular and doesn’t always cooperate with investigators.

Privately, investigators and those close to the missing girl case say there is a chance the girl was removed from the mother because she had the child out of wedlock. Sources say it’s possible the girl was taken back to Bangladesh long before her disappearance was reported.

There is a $6,000 reward for information about Tangena’s whereabouts. Those with information are asked to call 911, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.