March 2011 Uncle jailed after leaving Burnley baby with brain injuries A 23-YEAR-OLD man who left his baby nephew brain injured and profoundly disabled after shaking him vigorously has been jailed for 28 months. Burnley Crown Court heard how Syed Raza had been looking after the seven-month-old for up to 16 hours a day after the death of the child’s mother, his sister. The victim, Sarfraz Hussain Shah, had been born three months prematurely by Caesarian section whilst his mother was very ill and had not been allowed home until he was four months told because of his health difficulties and needed a lot of care. The hearing was told how Raza, who came to this country in December 2009, had sat by his sister’s bedside constantly before she died from cancer on January 2, last year. He had taken on the sole care of Sarfraz after the baby’s father, Imtiaz Hussain, went back to work, devoted himself to the child and bonded with him even though he had no experience of child care. But, on June 13 last year, the family’s life changed forever, when the defendant shook the little boy in panic to stop him choking and help him breathe after a feed. The court was told Raza carried on shaking the child and he acknowledged that led to his collapse. A month before, a health worker had advised him not to shake Sarfraz after she had seen him do it to encourage the baby to feed from a bottle. The victim suffered severe and initially life-threatening injuries. He had an extensive brain injury and retinal bleeding in both eyes. A top medic described him as now profoundly disabled, no longer able to fix his eyes on people and suspected his vision was poor. There were no older injuries to suggest serial abuse. The court was told the victim’s father, who had two other children by his late wife, found it difficult to accept the defendant had done what he did. Raza, of Hutton Drive, Burnley, had earlier admitted child cruelty. He faces deportation after his sentence.. Sentencing, Judge Graham Knowles, QC, said the defendant would have to live for the rest of his life with what he had done. He said Sarfraz’s family would never know the child or the man he would otherwise have been. He said: “To say this case is tragic is an understatement and for them and for Sarfraz it’s not a case, it’s their life.”