'Jealous' man who strangled young wife in front of TikTok lover & disposed of body in suitcase, jailed

Aminan Rahman, 46, was found guilty of gaslighting, manipulating, financially controlling, and assaulting 24-year-old Suma Begum before murdering her in their east London flat, as heard at the Old Bailey. The crime was witnessed via video call by Ms Begum's online boyfriend, who she met on TikTok and was living in the UAE.

Rahman then placed Ms Begum's body into a suitcase and was captured on CCTV dumping it in the River Lea, which flows into the Thames. Her decomposed body was discovered by a mudlarker 10 days later. Following his trial, Rahman, formerly of Bridgwater in Somerset, was convicted of murder and assault, along with preventing Ms Begum’s lawful and decent burial. On Tuesday (July 29), Mr Justice Bennathan sentenced Rahman to life with a minimum term of 22 years.

During sentencing, the judge said: "Suma Begum was a lively, attractive young woman and a devoted mother. She was kind to you even when she decided, as was her right, that she no longer wanted to be your wife. She had dreamed of a new, different life with a man about her own age, which dreams you stopped on April 29 last year when you very deliberately killed her.

“Sadly these courts often have to deal with men who have murdered their wives or partners, but what you did was more shocking even than most of those awful crimes. Within moments of strangling Ms. Begum, you folded her body into a suitcase and threw it into the Thames basin, hoping it would never be found.”

Rahman had previously attacked his wife, seizing her by the throat a couple of months before the murder. Ms Begum's half-brother, Abdul Amin, described Rahman as an "evil man," saying: "The reason this happened is because Aminan is a selfish and jealous man who could not stand the fact that his wife no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him."

He added: “No matter where you are from or what culture you are from, a woman should never be killed by their husband or partner and no child should have to lose a parent in this way.”

Ms Begum’s boyfriend, Shahin Miah, 24, recorded the events leading to her death, which he later handed to the police. In court, Miah described a video call from Rahman during which Rahman threatened to kill Ms Begum, who was visible on the bed in the background. Miah recounted Rahman’s threats to kill both Ms Begum and himself, saying: "She wanted to run away and he then grabbed her throat.” Miah also described seeing frothing from Ms Begum's mouth during a second video call from Rahman that night.

Ms Begum had married Rahman in an arranged Islamic ceremony over the phone in 2019 and moved from Bangladesh to live with him in Somerset in 2020. They had two children together. She later met Miah on TikTok, and their relationship continued despite Rahman being aware of it.

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC told jurors that Ms Begum was openly unhappy in her marriage and expressed a desire to leave Rahman, which neither he nor her family accepted. Rahman’s actions were driven by a mix of rage, shame, and jealousy. Immediately after the killing, Rahman tried to create a false narrative that his wife had abandoned him and their children.

Rahman was also accused of assaulting Ms Begum earlier, in February, when she recorded a video showing scratches on her neck, saying Rahman had taken her “breathings” away. Rahman admitted to killing Ms Begum but claimed he did not intend to harm her and was acting in defence of his child, a claim rejected by the prosecution.