Families Upset and Hurt by Judge’s Decision

November 25th, 2006 by admin

A letter from JHALMAN THANDI:

This letter involves the court case ruling on November 10 for Shingara Singh Thandi, 76, and Mewa Singh Bains, 83, regarding the attack on July 18 and 19, 2005, at Surrey’s Bear Creek Park. Both the Thandi and Bains families are upset and hurt by the judge’s decision to convict the two accused now aged 14 and 16 who were 13 and 15 at the time of the assault in 2005. They were charged with second degree murder. The judge reduced the charge to manslaughter. The judge decided that these youngsters intended to only badly harm and injure the two victims. They had little or no intention of killing them. The fact is that these young people planned to go to the park and attack an Indo-Canadian senior and then repeated the same action the very next day. This time, however, they used a bigger baseball bat which is unconceivable. They hit Mr. Thandi at least three times on the head with the force of a hammer hitting a nail. This proved that they meant to badly harm both victims by hitting them with baseball bats. The result was that the force broke Mr. Thandi’s dentures and fractured his skull eventually resulting in his untimely and unnecessary death. Yet the final judgment ruled in favour of the assailants rather than the victims.

The judge’s decision is sending the wrong message to youth - they can commit serious crimes without having to face an appropriate sentence and punishment. Regardless of the assailants’ ages, the verdict should have been stronger and more suitable. At the conclusion of the hearing the two youngsters and their families were very content and visibly happy with the verdict. They were smiling as they left the courtroom. The victim’s families were hurt, disappointed, and devastated by their reactions and the judgment. These intense feelings were felt by the relatives of the victims’ families.

These were similar feelings that Mr. Chuck Cadman, former Member of Parliament, and his family felt when his son, Jessie, was brutally murdered a few years ago. As a representative of Surrey he was committed to changing the laws to ensure greater safety and security in the community.

Many politicians attended a preliminary hearing in Surrey during the time of federal and municipal elections. They were also present at a candlelight vigil. These included Mr. Sukh Dhaliwal, MLA Sue Hammell, Ms. Penny Priddy, Dianna Watts, Nina and Gurwant Grewal and several Councillors. Subsequent to these services, only Nina Grewal phoned to offer her condolences.

Mr. Ujjal Dosanjh, former Health Minister, was approached by our family members to help gain a visa for Mr. Thandi’s daughter residing in India to see her injured father in hospital. The process took too long; she was denied seeing her father or attending his funeral. This was a miscarriage of justice and caused the family to needlessly suffer.

We hope that whatever happened to our parents would not be experienced by anyone else in the future. Our political representatives must act on this serious matter so that young criminals do not take advantage of the present liberal laws. The judge’s decision was too lenient. The punishment should be more suited to the crime. The family and the community are still asking why the judge or the justice system favoured the criminals rather than the elderly, helpless, and innocent victims.

Source: The Voice Online (www.voiceonline.com)

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