By Asia Samachar | New Zealand |
Two men were found guilty of the attempted murder of a Sikh radio host in New Zealand in a murder trial that has thrown up some shocking details.
Jurors returned the unanimous verdicts for the duo – a man with continuing name suppression and Jobanpreet Singh – in the High Court of Auckland today (Oct 13).
The man with continuing name suppression has been found guilty of orchestrating the ambush and near-fatal stab attack on the Auckland-based radio host he didn’t know personally but allegedly despised for his political and religious stances, while Jobanpreet has been found guilty of helping to inflict dozens of stab wounds through a bashed window of the victim’s ute, reported the New Zealand Herald.
Despite their different roles, the duo were each found guilty of attempted murder.
They will both face up to 14 years’ imprisonment when Justice Mark Woolford determines their sentences next month. The man with suppression gave a quick bow to supporters as he was remanded into custody to await sentencing. Several spectators in the courtroom gallery bowed in return, according to the report.
A third defendant, Sukhpreet Singh, was found guilty by an 11-1 verdict of being an accessory after the fact and was allowed to continue on bail while awaiting his sentence.
Authorities alleged that six men altogether tailed radio host Harnek Singh – under the direction of the man with name suppression – on the evening of December 23, 2020, as he returned home from a marathon four-hour broadcast at the Papatoetoe-based Sikh temple where his recording studio was. Three of the accused pleaded guilty prior to the trial, according to the report.
SEE: Shocking details from attempted murder trial of radio host Harnek Singh
Defence lawyer Dale Dufty, who represented the man with name suppression, described Harnek Singh at the outset of the trial as a professional provocateur and purveyor of “clickbait” who was widely disliked among the international Sikh community. But Harnek Singh, who suffered more than 40 stab wounds in the attack, later described himself in the witness box as someone who liked to discuss “Sikhism and misunderstandings in the history” of the religion, it added.
The Crown case centred on the plot to kill Harnek, which they say started and finished with the man with name suppression. “He is the one who is always constant, always there, always influential,” prosecutor Luke Radich said in closing, reported Stuff.
Radich said there was an “entrenched and heated degree of hatred” that underlies and was motive for the attack.
The report added: A week before the attack, Jaspal told the court, the man with name suppression, told him he needed Harnek “gone” and detailed a plan involving a bike, stolen car and a gun. “It was basically a hit on Harnek Singh,” Jaspal said.
SEE ALSO: The Cowardice of Religious Hooligans
“I was shocked at that time…. but he sat down and closed his eyes and said I was one of the chosen ones and I believed him….What he said had a lot of influence, so I obviously said yes.” Jaspal said they thought they were “doing the greater good” for the Sikh community.
The man with name suppression’s lawyer, Dale Dufty, told the jury Jaspal’s evidence was full of untruths and inconsistencies, the same report added.
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The Cowardice of Religious Hooligans (Asia Samachar, 1 Oct 2023)
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