Manslaughter verdict in Bear Creek beatings dismays families of victims

Jhalman Thandi is comforted by relatives Friday after a B.C. Supreme Court Justice ruled that the two teens who killed his father, 76-year-old Shingara Singh Thandi, are only guilty of manslaughter. A charge of second-degree murder against the two was dismissed. They were also convicted of aggravated assault and robbery in the beating of 84-year-old Mewa Singh Bains the day before the Thandi attack. EVAN SEAL / THE LEADER

Jhalman Thandi was in tears and barely able to speak after a B.C. Supreme Court Justice ruled Friday that the two teens who killed his father are only guilty of manslaughter.

Justice William Grist dismissed a charge of second-degree murder against the two, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to show they intended to kill 76-year-old Shingara Singh Thandi when they beat and robbed him in July of 2005.

Instead, he convicted the pair (who cannot be named because of their age) of the lesser offence of manslaughter in Thandi’s death, and also found them guilty of aggravated assault and robbery in the beating of 84-year-old Mewa Singh Bains the day before the Thandi attack.

After taking a moment to compose himself, Jhalman Thandi called the judgment a disappointment for both families, who were hoping for a murder conviction.

“It’s unacceptable,” Thandi told reporters outside the New Westminster courthouse.

“They killed two elderly, defenceless, innocent men,” he said. As he spoke, his mother and sister stood next to him, weeping quietly.

Bain’s son Dalvinder said the verdict sends the wrong message to young offenders.

“They’ll kill somebody and come out laughing,” Bains said.

Two leaders of two Surrey temples, Guru Nanak Gurdwara president Balwant Gill and Dasmesh Darbar chairman Bahadar Singh Sandhu, condemned the ruling, saying the community was hoping for a murder conviction.

“It should have been more than that,” Gill said.

Sandhu agreed, calling manslaughter “a very small charge for two men being killed.”

The younger of the two teens, 13 at the time of the beatings, will be sentenced as a young offender and faces a maximum of three years in custody.

The older of the two teens, 15 at the time, faces sentencing as an adult with a potential maximum of life in prison. However, his lawyer is expected to file an application to have the older teen sentenced as a young offender.

Their next court appearance is set for Nov. 23 to discuss a pre-sentence report on both.

Source: By Dan Ferguson
Staff Reporter
Surrey Leader - http://www.surreyleader.com
Nov 12 2006