A fugitive who claimed he had ebola in a bid to escape justice has been jailed after handing himself in.
Wali Yaqub triggered a regional health scare after securing an ‘entirely bogus’ diagnosis of the virus and then going on the run.
Yaqub was boss of the the Oasis Lounge, a death-trap shisha bar which repeatedly flouted fire safety regulations. The 37-year-old ended up in the dock after inspectors discovered customers' lives were being put at risk at the premises in Hulme.
Dark, smoky and overcrowded, the Oasis Lounge consisted of a marquee inside a warehouse. There was no working fire alarm and while customers smoked water pipes over smouldering charcoal, barrels of diesel, bags of rubbish and cardboard boxes blocked the only way out.
Yaqub was found guilty of fire safety breaches dating back to 2013 at a trial last year, but failed to show up for his sentencing date last spring.
