Jail for abortionist who sent pills to make women miscarry
An abortionist who sold desperate women pills that could make them miscarry their babies has been jailed for two and a half years.
Satbal Singh, 41, packaged pills from his Hounslow home and marketed them on the website onlineabortionpillsrx.com.
He sent Mifepristone and Misoprostol to a couple named in court as Sarah Harvey and Elliot Benham after they both had searched the internet to find the abortion drugs.
Harvey gave birth between 18 September and 23 September 2018 but it is not known if the child survived or not and the couple are now under investigation, Isleworth crown court heard.
Prosecutor Rosalind Earis said at the end of August 2018, Harvey was 28 weeks and five days pregnant.
In the UK it is illegal to abort a foetus after 24 weeks unless the mother is at risk or the child would be born severely disabled.
Harvey had previously had an appointment at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and was told it was too late to lawfully terminate her pregnancy.
She took one of the pills, mifepristone, and gave birth to a baby whose gender was not revealed.
The court heard the pill relaxes the cervix and induces labour.
Staff at a Wiltshire ante-natal unit contacted the police after they did not hear from Harvey when she was past her due date.
Ms Earis explained that when the baby was born there was a 93 per cent chance it was alive.
Judge Karen Holt said that ‘tragically in this case’ the ‘real victim is the baby’.
Harvey told police she lost the baby but she and her partner gave ‘conflicting accounts’ to the police.
In Benham’s bedroom police discovered a blister pack of the pills.
Emails were also found between Ms Harvey and the operator of the website, Vijay Pathania and the envelope Singh had used to post the pills from Hounslow.
Police found searches on the couple’s iPhones and iPads for ‘abortion pills’ and ‘whether they would have to pass through customs’.
They also searched the term ‘how does an abortion termination pregnancy work.’
At Singh’s home police found Mifepristone and Misoprostol and the jiffy bags he used to send them.
When questioned Singh denied to have any knowledge of the pills.
He claimed they must have been left there by a friend and that he only sold toys on eBay and Facebook.
But the prosecutor said he was doing this ‘for profit’ and Singh was the UK arm of an international business.
The prosecutor said that the investigation into Harvey and Benham is ongoing and added:‘There appears to be no evidence the baby is now alive.’
Singh was convicted of 23 offences of fraud 17 years ago.
His barrister Nick Wrack said he was remorseful and cares for his elderly parents.
Judge Holt jailed Singh for two-and-a-half-years, giving him 25 per cent discount by way of credit for a guilty plea.
Describing Harvey, the judge said: ‘Both she and Mr Benham told police the baby was born but the actual investigation as to what happened to that baby are still ongoing.
The judge said Singh initially gave a ‘lying account’, saying: ‘You denied posting the pills.
‘You said you knew Mr Pathania but didn’t know how the pills ended up in your bedroom.’
She continued: ‘You were working as the UK arm of the business.
‘Instructions would have been sent to you for you to package the pills.’
The judge said it was accepted that there was no ‘direct contact’ between him and the couple, but the judge said he must have known sending the pills would have been unlawful.
‘Clearly you knew the pills were to be taken outside medical care.
‘In your case the woman did take one of the pills.’
The judge said that she went into labour and added: ‘It appears tragically that the baby is the real victim in this case.
‘There is no evidence that the baby is alive.’
‘Your actions had serious consequences.’
Bespectacled Singh showed no emotion as he was led to the cells.
He was supported by one woman in the public gallery.
Louise Pinder, from the CPS, said: ‘Satbal Singh was part of an illegal business venture procuring unlawful miscarriages among women.
‘He sought financial gain from these desperate situations.
‘Although he acted as a middle-man, his actions were reckless and could have had severe health implications.
‘When Singh was arrested and interviewed he denied posting any pills and said he was just involved in selling shoes, jewellery and children’s toys on Ebay and Facebook.
‘He added that the pills found in his home might have been left there by a friend. However, when faced with the overwhelming prosecution evidence against him, Singh pleaded guilty.
‘Supplying medication outside of a health setting without appropriate medical supervision is illegal and dangerous.
‘The CPS will prosecute anyone who breaks the law in this way where there is the evidence to do so.’
Singh, of Armytage Road, Hounslow, west London, admitted one charge of supplying poison to be used with intent to procure abortion.
