Man guilty of ‘hate crime’ campaign

A man who subjected social workers, health professionals and
councillors to a seven-year campaign of hate crimes because he
believed they were desperate to section him will be sentenced next
month.

Richard Jan, 37, branded health professionals a “fascist horde”
after they were called in to investigate his mental health after a
fight at his parents’ home in 1996.

He was found guilty last week of one charge of causing a nuisance
to the public and two of arson with intent to endanger life.

During the seven-year campaign in Ealing, London, he made 4,500
crank phone calls, sent 211 threatening letters, slashed car tyres
and firebombed a councillor’s home.

Social worker Shauna Bailey was attacked twice by Jan and has not
worked since.

Earlier attempts to section Jan under mental health legislation
failed because his condition was deemed untreatable.

At the Old Bailey, Judge Henry Blacksell QC said Jan was “mentally
unstable”, but added: “The absence of a medical recommendation
allowing me to detain you indefinitely under the Mental Health Act
will mean inevitable life imprisonment.”

Speaking outside court, Det Chief Inspector David Poole said: “It
is fair to say he is undoubtedly Britain’s worst stalker. He is a
very dangerous individual whose seven-year campaign has ruined
lives.”

A nurse who worked at West London Mental Health Trust, where Jan
was a client, said his campaign had resulted in staff being
instructed to leave work together each day for their own safety.