A postie has been jailed for eight months after being found guilty of destroying almost 30,000 letters, despite trying to justify his actions by claiming he was simply getting rid of “junk mail”.
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard how Jabur Hissan had buried more than 29,000 bills and letters in his garden and on wasteland, burned 400 more and dumped about 200 on a canal towpath.
His defence claimed Hissan believed he was ditching junk mail. Robert Skinner said: “He was at the bottom of the rung and, I suspect, on the bottom pay package offered by the Royal Mail. He was finding it difficult to keep up with his rounds and he was struggling at home.”
But District Judge Jack McGarthar told Hissan: “The items described as junk mail by your solicitor are certainly not junk to the people who pay for them to be delivered.
“There is a serious risk, there were bills in the mail and people were not able to meet their responsibilities, letters to loved ones and more. This has a devastating effect on anybody affected by it.”
Royal Mail spokeswoman Val Bodden said: “The safety and security of mail is of the utmost importance to this business and Royal Mail will not allow the actions of any individual to damage the good reputation of our thousands of hard-working postmen and women.”
