A 22-year-old man charged with the false imprisonment and endangerment of a young woman in Co Kerry has been refused bail. The decision came after a judge said he had concerns about the seriousness of the charges after hearing an outline of the alleged facts in the case.
Muhammed Ahsan, with an address at William St, Listowel, made his second court appearance at Listowel District Court on Thursday morning on a total of four charges arising out of an incident in the town at the weekend.
Mr Ahsan is charged with both the false imprisonment and the endangerment of a 20-year-old woman at Clieveragh Road, Listowel, on September 28th..
He is also charged with the theft of the woman’s mobile phone and with dangerous driving at Clieveragh Road, Listowel,in the early hours of last Sunday.
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Defence solicitor Brendan Ahern said his client was seeking bail, but Insp Tim O’Keeffe said gardaí were opposing the application. Arresting officer Det Garda Shane O’Driscoll outlined the grounds of the objection, including the seriousness of the charges.
He told Judge David Waters that the State would allege that the accused was seen driving up and down the Clieveragh Road in Listowel in the early hours of September 28th and that he allegedly dragged the woman into the passenger side of his car.
He said the State would allege that the woman managed to release herself, but the accused dragged her back into the car from behind. It will allege that, restraining her around the neck and shoulders with his arms, he drove off with the passenger door open and her legs hanging out of the car.
Det Garda O’Driscoll said the State would also allege that the accused later sought to evade capture when he parked his car and fled into woodland when he saw a Garda car in the area. This alleged attempt by the accused to evade arrest was captured on CCTV, the detective told the court.
He said the accused was arrested a few hundred yards from the scene of the incident, in which the woman suffering bruising to her upper body, knees and legs. While she did not have to be hospitalised, she did see a doctor.
Det Garda O’Driscoll said gardaí were also seeking a remand in custody on the grounds that they were concerned that Mr Ahsan would not stand trial if granted bail as he was an asylum seeker who was in the State two years but had no ties to the jurisdiction.
Mr Ahern put it to Det Garda O’Driscoll that his client had a business and a wife and young family in Listowel. However, the garda said none of the family had any ties to the jurisdiction and although he had surrendered his passport, Mr Ahsan could abscond by driving to Northern Ireland.
Det Garda O’Driscoll said gardaí believed Mr Ahsan would commit further crimes if granted bail. They were concerned about a female witness with whom he allegedly had an interaction before the incident with the injured party in the case.
Gardaí believed “the accused presents a danger to life and personal safety of women and presents a danger to the community”, said Det Garda O’Driscoll. He told Judge Waters that the accused did not know the woman before the incident.
Judge Waters said he had concerns about granting Mr Ahsan bail given the seriousness of the charges and that he also had concerns after hearing the charges arose from a random encounter. He remanded the accused in custody to appear at Tralee District Court on October 15th.
