Promoter cleared of trying to kill rival
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A nightclub promoter accused of luring a teenage entrepreneur to a "DIY death chamber" was cleared on Monday of attempted murder.
Soleman Junglee, 25, was convicted of the lesser charge of unlawful wounding in a room that was described as the "Carol Vorderman makeover from hell". He is due to be sentenced today.
Junglee claimed that he had only been trying to scare off Ravis Ghelot, an 18-year-old former business associate. The pair had met while they were running party nights at a club in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, but the relationship turned sour and the prosecution claimed Junglee owed the young entrepreneur £100,000.
He lined the floor of an empty flat in St John's Wood, London, with black dustbin sacks and newspaper before tricking Mr Ghelot into going there. His aim was to "scare him witless", he told the court.
Junglee said that when he saw the room Mr Ghelot went into a frenzy and turned the tables on him, picking up a hammer and trying to attack him. He said Mr Ghelot was hurt in the struggle although he had not meant to cause him any physical injury.
Junglee, of Friern Barnet, north London, had denied attempting to murder Mr Ghelot in March this year.