Man jailed for pubic hair fraud

A fraudster who pulled out his own pubic hair at an Indian restaurant and put it on the remains of his lamb bhuna to get the meal for free has been jailed. Lee Tyers was caught on CCTV putting his hands down the front of his trousers as he sat at a table in Jamal’s restaurant in Middlesbrough town centre. The 40-year-old then claimed to restaurant staff that he had found the hair in his food - to get out of paying the £39.55 bill.

Eatery owner Jamal Chowdhury told the court that he had known Tyers, of Yarm, as a customer for around 18 years, but that Tyers owed him £110 at the time of the November 10 visit for unpaid previous meals. But he said he made it clear to Tyers when he entered the Corporation Road restaurant that he would serve him as long as he paid for that night’s meal - with no intention of claiming back the earlier debt.



Tyers assured the owner he had the cash to pay, before he and a friend ordered two lamb bhunas plus pilau rice, naan bread, drinks, a chapati and a shish kebab. The pair ate their meal - then Tyers called over a waiter to complain about the hair in his food. After some discussion, the pair left the restaurant without paying. Mr Chowdhury said "He showed me his plate and I said I gave you a clean plate. He had eaten everything but then on the side of the plate there was some brown hair.

"It was separate and not mixed into the food. I took it under the light and showed him it was brown hair and said that all the staff in the restaurant have black hair." Tyers denied a charge of fraud by false representation but was found guilty by magistrates at Teesside Magistrates’ Court. He was sentenced to two weeks’ in jail. Magistrates said they had found Mr Chowdhury to be “consistent and credible in giving his evidence”. Tyers was also ordered to pay £39.55 compensation.