Member of 'beheading' gang dies on East London street after drinking too much whisky at party

An East London gangster who tried to behead someone with a sword died after drinking too much whisky at a toddler's birthday party.

Sabesan Sivaneswaran, 34, of East Ham, drank enough alcohol to put someone in a coma while celebrating the birthday of a one-year-old at a party on Ilford Lane, an inquest heard.

Mr Sivaneswaran was part of a Samurai gang from Newham who tried to murder a 23-year-old in Alperton, North London, in 2006.

Armed with swords, pick-axe handles and pieces of wood, four of them tried to behead the victim who only had a cricket bat to defend himself. His arm was severed to the bone, leaving his hand hanging by the wrist.

The gang of seven known as "The East Ham Boys" were led by Senthurrajah Thavapalasingham and travelled across London to target rival gang DMX, the Old Bailey heard at the time.

In total the group were jailed for 63 years, while Mr Sivaneswaran was given a life sentence for attempted murder and ordered to serve at least eight years.

His imprisonment, along with other gang members, saw criminal damage fall by 80 per cent in the East Ham area, and reports of anti-social behaviour were also down by 50 per cent.

"East Ham is no longer a 'crime and disorder' hotspot," police declared after the trial in 2008.

But 14 years later Mr Sivaneswaran, of Caulfield Road, was found laying in the road outside a party unable to breath after choking.

Moments before a friend recalled how Mr Sivaneswaran had spilt curry on his shirt and was dancing, in a statement read to the East London Coroner's Court.

They said: "I noticed Sabesan could not hold his food plate because he was drunk. He tried drinking the water but he lost his balance and fell down. After about 30 to 35 minutes I went into the party because something kicked off. When I came back outside police were with him. I know he had been drinking whisky at the party."

Police officers patrolling the area had found Mr Sivaneswaran laying on Bengal Road with sick over his face, shirt, and on the floor at 12.06am.

Officers tried to clear his airways and he was still breathing, but fell unconscious at 12.21am. London Ambulance Service arrived six minutes after the initial call was made.

Paramedics took over CPR from the police as soon as they arrived, giving chest compressions, drugs to stimulate the heart and advanced life support. But, despite their efforts, they were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead at 1.30am.

The court heard evidence of Mr Sivaneswaran's mental health struggles and alcohol abuse which found his liver was already damaged by drinking.

Coroner Nadia Persaud also ruled out third party involvement after CCTV caught a verbal altercation between him and a car driver in the hours before he died.

Coroner Persaud said: "I am satisfied there was no evidence of foul play."

"The evidence suggests he choked on his own vomit," she said.

After reviewing toxicology and pathology reports the coroner concluded Mr Sivaneswaran died from "aspirating gastric contents" and "acute ethanol intoxication and alcohol related fatty liver disease".

In a statement to the court, his family said: "He came to this country when he was 10 years old and he always stayed alone. He always had a lovely smile."

But they revealed he was admitted to a mental health hospital in 2017 and "did not recover well". When he returned home in 2020 he was given a social worker.

"The day he passed away and left his home he talked to his mum and said goodbye," they added. "We were very shocked when he said goodbye. He did not know what issues he was facing with his mental illness."

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