A killer who was jailed for life after strangling his estranged wife to death with her bra strap died after suffering a heart attack in prison, a report has said. Abul Kashem Miah murdered teacher Rukshana Miah, 35, at their former home in North Reddish, Stockport, in August 2014.
The bouncer was convicted of murder at Manchester Crown Court in November 2015 and sentenced to life in prison. A fatal incident report by the prisons ombudsman said Miah died in hospital in April last year, three days after suffering a heart attack at HMP Stoke Heath in Shropshire.
The report criticised some aspects of the prison's response to Miah's death. It found staff did not have up-to-date first aid training and there was no oxygen in their emergency kit.
READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community
However the Prisons and Probation Ombundsman said it was not known whether those short-comings affected Miah's chances of survival. The killer was transferred to the prison near Market Drayton on March 14, 2022.
Health checks on his arrival found no significant issues. But at around 2.45pm on April 18 the 44-year-old collapsed in the exercise yard.
Other inmates came to his aid and put him in the recovery position, but did not use a nearby panic alarm 'due to a culture of not wanting to be perceived as helping staff, and fears of being adjudicated for improper use', the report said.
An inmate went to the staff office for help and when prison officers arrived they performed CPR and radioed for assistance. Staff were said to have responded well to the emergency, but later told the ombudsman they 'had not received refresher first aid training over a number of years', the report said.
There was also a 12-minute delay after it was discovered there was no oxygen in the emergency 'grab' bag. The report said: "The clinical nurse manager told us that emergency equipment used for life support was checked daily.
"However, on July 28, the head of healthcare conducted an audit of the grab bags and identified that five out of seven bags had no oxygen in them."
The nurse that gave oxygen told investigators they had felt 'nervous and uncertain about this process'. Miah was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital. He stopped responding to treatment three days later, and died.
The PPO, which investigates all deaths in custody, made five recommendations which it is hoped 'might impact the outcomes for other prisoners in future'. They included: asking for a review of the emergency response provided to the inmate, ensuring all staff understand their responsibilities in an emergency, ensuring all staff receive basic first aid training and to ensuring all emergency bags were checked daily.
Prisoners must also be reminded to use panic alarm, the reports recommended.
A Prison Service spokesperson told the BBC: "We have accepted all the recommendations made by the ombudsman and have introduced strict new processes to ensure emergency equipment is fully stocked at all times."
Mrs Miah, who was a teacher at Broadoak Primary School in Ashton-under-Lyne, died after the brutal assault at her home. The prosecution case alleged Miah, of Florist Street in Stockport, murdered her by strangling her with a bra strap and an electrical cord.
He claimed he had 'lost control' and attacked her after she had threatened to make a false rape claim.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- Moment masked robbers took young girls, 7 and 12, hostage with knives and threatened to “kill” boy before ransacking home
- Doer-upper house with 'huge potential' in one of Greater Manchester's most sought-after areas goes on market for just £160,000
- Pervert arrested at NURSERY where he worked as a cook after he was caught sending sick messages to 'girls'
- Two new Manchester restaurants up for gongs at prestigious national awards
- CCTV images show man wanted for 'performing sex act' in front of woman sat in car
