A Surrey man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of his sister-in-law and aggravated assault for wounds to his two-year-old niece and his father.
“An immense tragedy unfolded in the Singh household on Oct. 20, 2020, in Surrey, B.C.,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin said in her Oct. 9 sentencing decision.
Devlin said disagreements among family members “tragically culminated in the stabbing death of Baljit Kaur at the hands of her brother-in-law, Harpreet Singh. In the course of this attack, Mr. Singh also inflicted serious stabbing injuries on his then two-year-old niece... and his elderly father, Jagjit Singh.”
Harpreet, 39, pleaded guilty Sept. 6 to manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault.
The Crown sought 12 years’ imprisonment while defence submitted the case merited a sentence not exceeding eight years.
The case was heard at the New Westminster law courts.
What happened?
Harpreet lived in a multi-storey Surrey home that he shared with brother Narinder Singh, his sister-in-law, his niece, his father and mother Surinder Kaur.
On the morning of Oct. 20, 2020, Jagjit spoke to Surinder about her wearing dirty socks in the living room. Harpreet asked Jagjit why he was speaking to Surinder so loudly, and soon thereafter Harpreet left for work.
Later that day, when Harpreet returned, he confronted his father about yelling at Surinder. The two men argued and Harpreet pushed Jagjit.
At around the time of this argument, Narinder, Baljit and the child returned to the residence after having gone grocery shopping. Harpreet helped bring the groceries in. Narinder then left to find parking and Harpreet went upstairs.
Baljit asked Jagjit what he and Harpreet had been arguing about. Baljit went upstairs, while carrying the child, and confronted Harpreet.
Baljit then came back down the stairs, with the child still in her arms, and went to the living room, where Jagjit was sitting on the couch.
Large kitchen knife
“(Harpreet) grabbed a large kitchen knife upstairs, came back downstairs, entered the living room, and began stabbing Baljit,” Devlin said. “(The child) fell to the floor and began to cry. (Harpreet) continued to stab Baljit. Jagjit tried to grab (Harpreet’s) arm and the knife to stop the attack on Baljit and was also stabbed by (Harpreet).”
Narinder returned some seven to eight minutes after going to find parking.
“As he entered the residence, (Harpreet) told Narinder something to the effect of ‘I did the job’ and ‘call the police,’” Devlin said. “(Harpreet) left the residence while still holding the knife.”
Outside, Harpreet approached a man and asked him to call the police and said, “domestic violence.” He was still holding the knife.
Police arrived and Harpreet was told to drop the knife, which he did.
Meanwhile, Narinder also called 911 three times, in short succession.
“He and Jagjit tried to stop Baljit’s bleeding,” Devlin said. “Emergency health services attended the residence and transported both Jagjit and Baljit for medical care. Baljit died from her injuries.”
Baljit suffered numerous injuries to her head, shoulder, thigh, and abdomen, including an incised wound that penetrated the scalp and left a mark on her skull; a stab wound to her left thigh which injured the femoral artery and vein; and stab wounds to her abdomen which perforated several internal organs.
“The multiple, sharp-force injuries inflicted upon Baljit by (Harpreet) were the cause of her death,” Devlin said.
Heard voices
Harpreet has a history of mental health issues, including depression and anger concerns, the court heard.
A psychiatrist said Harpreet has experienced auditory hallucinations on a number of occasions.
“He reported remembering hearing voices as early as 2018, during the breakdown of his marriage,” Devlin said. “He also reported hearing voices in the immediate lead-up to the offences, instructing him to kill Baljit.”
Devlin said it was an aggravating factor that Baljit was killed in her own home.
“Baljit’s life was brutally taken in the place she should have felt most safe,” the judge said.
Broken down, the sentence is 10 years for the manslaughter and two years each for the aggravated assaults. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
