A woman poisoner who drugged a neighbour by spiking her drink and then bundled her unconscious body into a suitcase has been jailed for 12 months.

The judge who today sent 44-year-old Asram Nassar to prison said it was "a most bizarre case."

Nassar, of Princeville Street, Lidget Green, Bradford, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court after earlier pleading guilty to three charges of administering noxious substances to neighbours.

Sentencing Nassar, Judge Alistair McAllum, said there was no clear evidence of any motives.

"I simply do not know where the truth lies," he said.

The court heard that on December 15, 1997, Nassar invited neighbour Shamin Akhtar to her home and persuaded her to have a drink of Mango juice.

The drink had been spiked with a mixture of the drug Tamazapam and another anti-depressant.

Prosecuting, Timothy Hartley said Shamin Akhtar quickly felt her hands and feet going numb.

Nassar then bundled her comatose neighbour into a suitcase, zipped it up, and rang two friends.

When they arrived in their car Nassar dragged the suitcase into her driveway and attempted to load it into the boot.

It was then, said Mr Hartley, that Nassar's friends heard a voice. They unzipped the suitcase, discovered Shamin Akhtar, and phoned for an ambulance.

Nassar later told police that she was concerned for her neighbour's health, and she'd been trying to get her to a hospital.

She said she had tried to find a pushchair to transport her to the car, and that the suitcase was the next best thing.

The court heard Nassar had also drugged two other neighbours in a similar way. Around the same time, Sabrin Akhtar visited Nassar's home, and was given some tablets. She woke up some hours later in her own home.

A third neighbour, Altas Bagum, visited Nassar's house and was asleep for some 18 hours after being offered a glass of Mango juice.

The prosecution did not enter any motives for Nassar's bizarre actions.

Defending Malcolm Swift said Shamin Akhtar had been having an affair, which Nassar knew of. He said she had given the tablets to Altas Bagum, and Sabrin Akhtar, to stop them spreading rumours in the community, especially as Nassar was aware of the affair.

Explaining why Nassar had drugged Shamin Akhtar, Mr Swift said the 44-year old was in financial difficulties, and believed her neighbour had revealed this fact to a group of money lenders.

Mr Swift said: "The whole situation seems to have got out of control. The purpose behind putting Shamin Akhtar into the suitcase was panic.

"She wanted to avoid her being seen in such a state in a public place. And on a practical level she was too heavy to lift and began to look for some means of getting her out of the house."

After the case, the detective in charge of the inquiry, Detective Sergeant Terry Long, of Toller Lane police said: "This is a bizarre case, and we have never established any kind of motive. I doubt we will ever get to the bottom of it."

I was drugged and stuffed in a suitcase

Mother-of-four Shamim Akhtar today relived the agony of being drugged and stuffed inside a suitcase - and said she was lucky to be alive.

The 33-year-old was drugged and bundled into the suitcase while unconscious, by her neighbour Asram Nassar.

It was only when Nassar asked a couple for help in shifting the suitcase and they spotted it moving that Mrs Akhtar's unconscious body was discovered.

But then, Nassar feigned concern and even accompanied her victim to hospital in an ambulance.

Today Mrs Akhtar says she still suffers terrible pains in her legs after being squashed inside the case.

And the trauma of the episode has left her terrified at night.

She became a victim in December 1997 after Nassar pestered her with requests to go round to her home.

"She was not a friend of mine, she was just someone I knew," said Mrs Akhtar. "She was always asking me to go round to her house. I didn't know then she was a dangerous lady."

One day last December Nassar was persistent in inviting Mrs Akhtar into her home.

First, she told her to leave her car parked up the street instead of the driveway of her home in Princeville Street, Lidget Green, Bradford. But the trusting Mrs Akhtar never suspected anything.

Inside, Nassar pressed gifts into her new friend's hands and insisted on her taking a drink of mango juice - forcing her to finish every drop.

Within minutes, Mrs Akhtar was feeling dizzy.

"It was 9.15 in the morning by this time. I had to go because I was due to see my mother-in-law.

"I told her that I'd step outside for some fresh air, because I was feeling dizzy. She pushed me down on a sofa and I dropped my car keys and purse.

"She told me to sit down and she would get me tablets to make me feel better. I then realised tablets were being put in my mouth and I don't remember what happened next.

"I knew something was happening. I felt someone was fighting with me and moving my legs around but I couldn't scream or yell."

Her body was discovered in the suitcase seven hours later - at around 5pm.

The following day at 11am, Mrs Akhtar came round from the drugs - to find her cash, gold bangles and gold locket missing. "It gradually came back to me, what had happened, and a relative overheard and told doctors who called the police.''

She still suffers pains as a result of her ordeal. "I also suffer from blackouts and get petrified at night. I thought I'd die, but God helped me.

"She is a very dangerous woman. I do not understand why she did this to me. She has also done this to others. I can't understand why she is still on the streets."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.