By Tim Parsons-
Two men have been charged with robbery and assault offences , following acid attacks on former boxer Michael Watson and a teenager.
28 year old Simon Luck, and 30 year old Paul Samuels, from Manor Park, were charged on Wednesday with a single count of conspiracy to commit robbery following the incidents. Michael Watson needed hospital treatment after being sprayed with acid in The Ridgeway, Chingford, on February 16th. Two weeks earlier, 19 year old Mr.Robinson was blinded after an incident in Church Hill Loughton on February 4th.
Michael Watson was left partially disabled after suffering a near-fatal brain injury during his epic WBO super-middleweight title clash with Chris Eubank in 1991.
Luck has also been charged with one count of actual bodily harm, two count of possession to supply heroin and crack cocaine and three outstanding offences of domestic abuse or harassment. Samuels was also charged with possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine. The perpetrators appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court today, and were remanded in custody to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday, 1 November.
Acid attacks have become one of the most dangerous forms of weaponry used by London gangs, and are easily obtainable in shops and online. The UK government are in a race against time to address the dangerous use of acid in Britain, by making them very difficult to access by random members of the public. The challenge they face is that acid have multiple domestic purposes, leaving the government with the duty to figure out how to ensure that only responsible people can access acid, or to discover an alternative chemical without the dangerous element sin acid that can perform the goals it is intended for.
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Michael Watson was a phenomenal boxer who lost a very close and thrilling fight he was originally winning against Chris Eubank. He was eventually stopped by Eubank in the last round of their world title clash, after which he collapsed and never fully regained his health. He has since been wheel chair bound, making it very sad and unfortunate that a mindless thug in the streets would have felt comfortable in spraying him with acid.
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