The worst hit and run of the year in Canada could get two Punjabi Sikhs deported

 

2 men face deportation after fatal pedestrian hit-and-run in Surrey

Two pled guilty after dragging pedestrian under car for more than a kilometre

Anna Burns
May 22, 2025 8:52 PM2 days ago

Gaganpreet Singh, left, and Jagdeep Singh leaving Surrey Provincial Court May 22, 2024. Anna Burns/ Surrey Now-Leader

The family of the victim killed in a 2024 pedestrian collision say the two men charged in connection with his death treated him “like a piece of garbage, dumping him on the side of the road.”

Victim impact statements were read in court on Thursday, May 22 during a sentencing hearing for Gaganpreet Singh and Jagdeep Singh. The two pleaded guilty in Surrey provincial court on Jan. 6 and Feb. 7, respectively, to the dangerous operation of a conveyance, failing to stop after hitting a person, and interfering with a dead body.

The charges stem from a collision on Jan. 27, 2024, when Surrey RCMP responded to a report of a pedestrian hit in the 13400-block of 105 Avenue around 1:45 a.m. The pedestrian had been dragged under the car for 1.3 km.

The two accused were in Surrey Provincial Court Thursday (May 22) for a sentencing hearing before Judge Mark Jetté.

The Crown read two victim impact statements, one from the victim's wife and the other from his mother-in-law.

The family of the victim asked for privacy and that their family member not be named.

Both statements described the kind of man the victim was. He was a loving husband and father to his two children; a strong, caring, Cree man who taught his children about their Indigenous culture and heritage. He was an intergenerational residential school survivor.

His family said he also had a strong work ethic and was proud of the projects he had worked on. “(The victim) was known and loved by many for his approachable nature, wit, and kind spirit,” his family said.

The victim impact statements noted the accused prolonged the harm to the family by continuing to drag the victim for 1.3 km after the collision. The family noted the worst part was the accused men's lack of apology and remorse. They also spoke about the impact of not being able to view their loved one's body due to the severity of his injuries and about being “unable to follow the cultural and spiritual protocols that come with death in our culture, which include having an open casket.”

The family asked the court not to just see the death of the victim but also the impact it has had on his family, community and culture.

“I ask that the justice system acknowledge the full weight of this harm and the magnitude of loss, and the urgent need for accountability and healing be reflected," a statement read.

Crown cites mitigating factors

Crown prosecutor Adam Janun noted several mitigating factors in this case, including that the two accused pleaded guilty, were young – both being 22 years old – and had no previous criminal record in Canada or in their home country of India.

What made this such a serious offence was not the initial collision, the Crown said, “although tragic" – it was how the accused responded after hitting the victim.

The Crown and defence counsel for Gaganpreet Singh presented a joint submission recommending he be sentenced to three years jail, a three-year driving prohibition, and a DNA order.

“The sentence breakdown is one year jail, consecutive on each count,” the Crown said.

The Crown argued that Jagdeep Singh should be sentenced to four years in jail followed by a three-year driving prohibition and a DNA order. The defence counsel for Jagdeep Singh was seeking a conditional sentencing order of two years, which would be served in the community.

Court hears about night of collision

The circumstances of the offence and the agreed statement of facts were both filed with the court when the accused entered their guilty pleas.

The Crown noted two different “agreed statements of facts” because Jagdeep and Gaganpreet pled guilty on two dates.

Timeline (the locations are an approximation based on the Crown's submissions in court) ​​​ 

1: At 1:41 a.m., the Mustang on University Drive struck the victim.

2: Gaganpreet drove the vehicle 50 meters north on University Drive and briefly stopped.

3: At around 1:42 a.m. He drove about 800 meters to 105A and University Drive and stopped. This is when the witnesses reported telling Gaganpreet and Jagdeep about the victim being under the vehicle. The defence for Jagdeep contests what his client said here. One of the witnesses followed the Mustang from this point.

4: Gaganpreet drove through a red light at 105A and University Drive and continued north on University Drive to 108 Ave, where he turned left on a red light. He continued to drive down 108 Ave and turned right at 132 Street without stopping at the red light. He then drove halfway down 132 Street between 108 Ave and 109 Ave, and stopped the car. At this point, the witness following the vehicle had stopped and returned to her husband's location. Gaganpreet then tried to remove the victim's body from under the Mustang by moving the car forward and then reversing it. He was unsuccessful.

5: Gaganpreet drove into the cul-de-sac where he and Jagdeep made several attempts to remove the victim from the car. 

•At 1:47 a.m. Jagdeep and Gaganpreet then fled the scene, with Jagdeep driving, and were stopped by police a short distance away in the left turn lane of King George Boulevard at 132 Street at 1:48 a.m. Google Maps Screenshot/ graphic by Surrey Now-Leader

The Crown told the court the events that took place in the early morning hours of Jan. 27 directly before, during and after the collision.  Gaganpreet, Jagdeep and a friend made a quick stop at a pizza restaurant. After leaving the restaurant, Gaganpreet drove Jagdeep’s Mustang about 800 metres to the intersection of 105 Avenue and University Drive. Jagdeep was in the passenger seat, and a friend was in the back seat. The passenger in the back seat has not been charged.

Around the same time, Gaganpreet was leaving the pizza place, a married couple driving north on University Drive noticed something lying in the road. The couple stopped the vehicle to see that it was a man and called out to him, but he did not respond. The witnesses then called 9-1-1 at 1:41 a.m.

Five seconds later, while the witness was on the phone with 9-1-1, Gaganpreet was driving the Mustang northbound on University Drive when he struck the victim, the Crown said.

Gaganpreet was going 79 km/h in a 50km/h zone at the time of the collision.

The witness noticed that the victim was no longer on the road and believed the victim must have been “dragged under the Mustang.”

Gaganpreet stopped the car after driving about 50 metres before continuing. He stopped again at the corner of University Drive and 105A Avenue. At this time, Jagdeep got out of the car and inspected the front and middle of it. Gaganpreet also got out and looked under the front of the vehicle. At that time, friends of Gaganpreet and Jagdeep pulled up next to them in a vehicle.

A few seconds later, the married couple who had witnessed the collision pulled up behind the Mustang.

The husband got out of the car and ran up to the Mustang to alert Gaganpreet and Jagdeep that the victim was stuck under their vehicle. The Crown alleges that this is when the accused “became aware that the victim was underneath the Mustang.” The Crown played the 9-1-1 call in court and stated that Sarah Grewal, the defence for Jagdeep, disagreed with the Crown’s submissions that their client had said to the witness, “No, no, he is sleeping,” when he was told about the victim under the car.

Grewal said, “He did say ‘no, no,’ but what he said afterwards, in my respectful submission, it was hard to make out what he was saying and my client denies saying that.”

Gaganpreet and Jagdeep then got back into the Mustang and sped away, running several red lights along the way. One of the witnesses followed the Mustang in her car for a short time and noted the Mustang had run several red lights and was travelling at about 60 to 70 km/h. The witness then decided to return to her husband’s location near 105 Avenue and University Drive.

This is when Gaganpreet tried to remove the victim's body from under the Mustang but was unsuccessful. He then drove into a cul-de-sac near 109 Avenue and 132 Street. The Crown stated that the victim was deceased by this time.

The Crown showed surveillance video from a home in the cul-de-sac.

Gaganpreet got out of the vehicle and knelt by the front, and Jagdeep also got out and held a flashlight to help Gaganpreet see underneath it.

The Crown alleges that the two discussed how to remove the victim's body and decided that Jagdeep would reverse the car while Gaganpreet tried to remove the body. It took several attempts to dislodge the victim before fleeing the scene at 1:47 a.m.

Then Jagdeep got into the driver's seat and Gaganpreet got into the front passenger seat and they drove away.

In response to the witness's 9-1-1 call, police were searching the area for the Mustang. At 1:48 a.m., a Surrey Police officer spotted the vehicle and “conducted a vehicle stop.”  All three individuals in the car, including Gaganpreet and Jagdeep, were arrested for failing to remain at the scene of the collision. One of the officers noted that Gaganpreet’s clothing was wet and dirty and asked him why. He told the officer that he had just finished some construction work which was why his clothes were dirty.

Officers then located the victim’s body.

The victim died as a result of being hit or dragged by the Mustang, the Crown said. “I want to make that very clear, he was not dead before he was hit by the Mustang.”

Both of the accused spoke to the court and apologized for their actions and spoke, through a Punjabi interpreter, about the impact that night had on them and their families.

Deportation orders likely for both men

The Crown noted that CBSA is seeking a deportation order for Jagdeep and said if he is given a conditional sentence he will likely be deported, which would be equivalent to his charges being stayed.

The Crown noted that Gaganpreet is not currently subject to the same deportation order as he received a new study permit before his old one expired, but it is likely the CBSA will seek a deportation order once he is sentenced.

Both the accused came to Canada at different times on student visas from Punjab, India, and both hope to apply for a work permit after studying with the hope of being a permanent resident and then citizen of Canada. Gaganpreet came in 2022 and recently received a diploma from Vancouver Community College. Jagdeep had studied for some time at Cambria College and Excel Career College in Surrey before moving to Victoria for work at the end of 2023. He had hoped to apply for a work permit after finishing his schooling.

Gagan Nahal, defence counsel for Gaganpreet, noted during submissions that his client had taken responsibility for his actions.

“He demonstrated some insight into his offending behaviours, more specifically, his associations, impulsivity and risk taking behaviours," Nahal said, adding his client had reported feelings of "regret, shame and remorse." 

“In addition to the criminal consequences, Mr. Singh will also be facing collateral consequence of inadmissibility and deportation, which gives him status as a foreign national in Canada.”

Nahal noted his client was “well aware” that he could face deportation before he entered his guilty plea.  

Sarah Grewal, the defence counsel for Jagdeep, told the court: “Mr. Singh is deeply remorseful what his actions have caused. He tells me that he suffers from depression due to his actions. He thinks about the victim on a daily basis, and for that reason, he has reconnected with his religion, and spends time at the Sikh temple.”

Grewal told the court what his client had told her and how it was different from Gaganpreet’s agreed statement of facts.

“He did not realize that they had struck a body when initially that happened, and he had heard a loud noise, and he'd heard me thought maybe they hit a speed bump,” Grewal said. “Eventually, once they pulled over, then they eventually found out that there was someone under the vehicle.”

Grewal added that, “Now, after reflecting on his actions, he is deeply regretful, but he tells me that at that time he was in a high state of panic, and he agrees that he was not acting right, but it was also in a state of panic.”

The judge said he did not doubt that the two accused were panicking.

“It's too bad that one of them, even the third person who ultimately wasn't charged with anything at all, would not have found a bit of common sense to bring to the problem,” Jetté said. Instead of focusing on how they could help the victim, they panicked and focused on themselves and how they could try and get out of that situation.

Judge Jetté will deliver his decision on July 16, 2025, in Surrey Provincial Court. 

Utrecht Terrorist Allowed to Roam Free While Awaiting Trial for Rape

Liberal justice systems seem to do their absolute best to not intrude too much

on the lives of criminals and terrorists

Note found after Utrecht tram shooting

fuels suspicion of terror motive

The Associated Press · 

Police have arrested Gokmen Tanis, 37, in connection with Monday's shooting on a tram in the central Netherlands city.

(Police Utrecht/Associated Press)

Dutch prosecutors say they are taking seriously the possibility a man suspected of killing three people and seriously wounding three in a shooting on a tram in Utrecht had a terrorist motive.

In a statement Tuesday, prosecutors say the nature of the attack and a note found in a getaway car give them reasons to consider terrorism as a motive. They say other possible motives also are being investigated.

The prosecutors also say investigations do not indicate the main suspect, a 37-year-old man of Turkish descent who was arrested hours after Monday's attack, knew any of the victims.

Prosecutors say a weapon was recovered when he was arrested.

The statement says as well as the three seriously wounded, four suffered light injuries.

3rd arrest

Police said Tuesday they've arrested a third person on suspicion of involvement in the shooting, following the second arrest in the case on Monday. Police have not released their names or said what their connection to the shooting might be.

Public prosecution office spokesperson Ties Kortmann said Gokmen Tanis, 37, is being held on suspicion of manslaughter with a possible terrorist motive, but investigations are continuing into what drove Tanis to allegedly open fire in a tram.

Manslaughter - I thought he had been planning this for a long time?

Authorities say they have not ruled out other possible motives and Dutch media citing his neighbours in Utrecht have speculated the shooting may have been linked to a relationship, but that appears increasingly unlikely after prosecutors said none of the victims was known to the main suspect.

Tanis was arrested Monday evening after an hours-long manhunt that nearly paralyzed the fourth largest city in the Netherlands and sent shockwaves through the country.

Officials said Tanis has a long criminal record in the Netherlands involving a variety of offences — none terror-related.

Detained on suspicion of rape

Dutch judicial authorities have published details about the criminal record of the main suspect.

According to information made public on the official website of Dutch courts, Gokmen Tanis was accused of a rape in 2017. He was jailed in that case from August to September 2017 and then again from Jan. 4 this year because he refused to work with authorities investigating the case. He was released on March 1 after pledging to co-operate.

Good grief! And they believed him, with his record!

His trial in the rape case is scheduled for July 15.

He also was convicted in March of shoplifting and burglary in 2018. He was handed a prison sentence of four months for the burglary and a week for the shop theft, but has not served any time yet as the cases can still be appealed.

In 2014, he was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted in the same case of illegal weapon possession and attempted theft.

Prosecutors were questioning all three suspects and it was not yet clear if Tanis would be brought before an investigating judge on Tuesday. 

Such hearings are generally held to request suspects are detained for longer pending further investigations.

I certainly hope they would never consider loosing this lunatic on society again, but Netherlands justice, I'm sure he will be free again before too many years.

Dutch media published details of two of the victims killed Monday — the 19-year-old woman reportedly worked in a ​​​​​​café in Vianen, and a father of three who volunteered as a soccer coach in Vleuten, a town west of Utrecht.

The soccer club posted a message saying they heard "with great dismay and astonishment" that the trainer of an under-19 boys' team and under-11 girls' team died in the shooting.

Afghan Boy, 15, Held After Ex-Girlfriend is Stabbed to Death in Germany

The New Normal - Germany

© Global Look Press

A 15-year-old Afghan boy is reportedly being held by police on suspicion of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death during an argument in a grocery store in Germany.

The attack took place at around 3:20pm local time in a grocery store in Kandel, a town in Rhineland-Palatinate on the German-French border, according to the newspaper Die Rhinepflatz. The boy was apprehended by passersby and held until police arrived at the scene.  

The victim, a German national who was said to have broken off a months-long relationship with the accused earlier this month, reportedly entered the store along with a companion. The girl was then attacked with a kitchen knife. She died in hospital Wednesday afternoon.

Prosecutor Angelika Moehlig said that the unidentified suspect, who has been in Germany since April 2016, is being kept in custody on suspicion of manslaughter. The Associated Press reports that while the motive is not yet known, the girl’s parents filed a complaint against the accused on December 15 alleging slander and threats. 

Sounds like murder to me, but the German judicial system will handle this murderous boy with kid gloves, and if he spends any time in prison, he will certainly be back out endangering more German girls while he's still a teenager.

Some Muslim boys do not appear to handle being broken up with very well. Girls should not have that much power of boys in their minds. It is an assault on their fragile egos.

Boat Captain Guilty in Deadliest Mediterranean Shipwreck, Gets 18 Years

More than 700 migrants drowned as Malek deliberately collided with a rescue ship

"I have a little son from an Italian [woman]. I want to marry her," boat captain Mohammed Ali Malek told the court before his conviction Tuesday.

By Doug G. Ware, UPI

Tunisian fishing boat captain Mohammed Ali Malek (L) and Syrian deck hand Mahmud Bikhit were convicted by an Italian court Tuesday in the deaths of more than 700 people in the Mediterranean Sea's deadliest shipwreck. Malek was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Photos courtesy of Italian police

ROME, (UPI) -- The captain of a fishing boat, packed with illegal migrants, who authorities say caused the deadliest Mediterranean shipwreck in history was convicted and sentenced to prison on Tuesday.

Mohammed Ali Malek was convicted on charges of manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the disaster. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

More than 700 people are believed to have died on April 13, 2015, when the fishing vessel -- which carried scores of migrants bound for Italy -- abruptly collided with a Portuguese freighter ship, which was coming to the captain's aid.

The freighter, the King Jacob, was headed toward the fishing vessel to lend assistance after it received an emergency call from Italian authorities.

The small fishing vessel was destroyed and sunk, causing hundreds to drown in the sea. It's the Mediterranean's deadliest known shipwreck. Only 28 survivors were saved.

Including the Captain and mate!

According to investigators, Malek, 28, steered his boat into the freighter and caused the collision off the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The exact death toll is unknown because most of those who drowned were undocumented immigrants traveling illegally from Libya to Italian shores -- part of the migrant crisis that's enveloped Europe in the last two years.

According to estimates, nearly 5,000 migrants have died this year attempting to cross the Mediterranean, and about 3,700 died last year.

Mahmud Bikhit, a Syrian national who served as Malek's mate on the boat, was also convicted on charges of aiding illegal immigration. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Malek's attorney said he plans to appeal the verdict and the sentence. Both men were also fined $9.5 million. Both have denied accusations that they were involved in human trafficking.

"I have been in Italy for two and a half years and I have a little son from an Italian [woman]. I want to marry her and [claim my son]. It's the truth," Malek told the court before Tuesday's verdict.

Good luck with that!

According to Malek, a citizen of Tunisia, his boat was thrust into the King Jacob by a large wave that was created in the sea by the freighter's large propellers.

"My client says he was a mere passenger," attorney Massimo Ferrante told The New York Times.

After the verdict, prosecutors said the case set two important precedents -- that traffickers who get into life-threatening situations can be criminally prosecuted after their rescue, and that migrants in such scenarios can be considered victims and avoid legal liability.

Lampedusa Island, Italy