Jail for 'medieval slave' abuse

Liaquat Haq was described as "a man of domineering personality"

A south Wales businessman and his girlfriend have been jailed after making two women live in conditions "akin to medieval slavery" for nearly 10 years.

The victims of Liaquat Haq from Mountain Ash in the Cynon Valley and Sharon Skitt from Pontygwaith, Rhondda, endured physical and mental abuse.

Haq whipped one woman and forced her to sleep in a room with his dogs, Cardiff Crown Court was told.

One of the women was found to have more than 100 scars on her body after she finally escaped.

Father-of-three Haq was jailed for four-and-a-half years after being foung guilty of five counts of causing actual bodily harm, one of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and a charge of indecent assault.

You played your part and must now bear the penalty for it Judge David Morris

Skitt, who has two boys, was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm and causing actual bodily harm and assault against the two women.

She was jailed for three years.

Prosecutor Mark Evans, QC said the two women were kept "in conditions virtually akin to medieval slavery".

"One of them had no proper bed and had to sleep on the floor in a shower room with Haq's Great Danes," he said.

"The other woman was treated as a skivvy and required to carry out domestic duties.

"Haq had a hold over them by a process of threats and false accusations."

Sharon Skitt assisted Haq keep the women "in a degraded position"

One woman was also prevented from seeking medical help after an attack with a stick or bat left her with a fractured arm, the court heard.

Defending, Gregg Taylor, QC, said Haq was now "a ruined man".

Jeremy Jenkins, defending Skitt, said his client had played a secondary role but had found herself in a position it was impossible to extricate herself from.

Judge David Morris said Haq was "a man of domineering personality" who was prone to lose his temper "in a violent and aggressive way".

He said that Skitt had helped keep them in a "subsidiary and degraded position".

"You played your part in that and must now bear the penalty for it," he said.