Bahadur Singh in the High Court at Hamilton this afternoon. Photo / Mike Scott
Bahadur Singh in the High Court at Hamilton this afternoon. Photo / Mike Scott
A Morrinsville man who killed his dad after pushing him through a glass door during a whisky-fuelled rage has been jailed.
Bahadur Singh, 42, in the High Court at Hamilton was today sentenced on a charge of manslaughter of Gurnam Singh after a drunken argument at their family property on Valentine Rd, Gordonton, near Morrinsville, on March 16.
In sentencing Singh to two years and one month prison, Justice Graham Lang noted that the death was caused by a push and not anything with more direct force, like a punch.
He described the offending as "extremely serious" and the push on the night wasn't a one-off, rather the result of "constant degree of hostility" towards his family that night.
As Singh was led from the dock, he turned to three family members in the dock, including a brother, and professed his love for them and his parents.
"I love you, I love my family," he said while holding a heart shape with his two hands. "I love my mum, I love my dad."
His family members did not look at him or respond.
Earlier, crown prosecutor Rebecca Guthrie said Gurnam Singh's death had been felt "enormously" by the family, especially as he was seen as the patriarch, given his integral involvement in the family's farm business.
He was also supportive of his children and grandchildren.
She urged Justice Lang to limit any prospective discount for remorse and instead stick to that just required for his early guilty plea.
Singh is the oldest of three siblings but he had a fractured relationship with his family in recent years due to his use of alcohol and illicit drugs.
The Singh family operated a large-scale dairy and farming business in the Morrinsville area
On the night of his father's death, Singh was visiting his parents but was highly intoxicated after drinking whisky all day.
His brother, Bilkar Singh, arrived about 7pm and an argument erupted resulting in Singh following him outside and yelling, "you guys better watch out, I'm going to kill you all".
He continued to aggressively challenge his brother to a fight and eventually punched him in the back causing him to fall onto paving below.
Police were called and another brother, Jagdeep, was called to the house to help.
Police officers at the home of the Singh family, where father Gurnam Singh was killed at the hands of son Bahadur in March this year. Photo / Belinda Feek
Fearing further violence, Bilkar Singh, along with a friend and the victim, used rope to tie the offender's hands behind his back with the aim of it holding him until police arrived.
Singh continued to threaten his family including threatening to set the Mongrel Mob on them and that he would kill them all and the family property would be his.
He shortly after broke free of his restraint, and the brothers decided to leave the house, leaving just the victim there with his mother.
Singh tried to get into the house through the rear door, however, the victim tried to keep it closed, and the pair struggled with it.
Singh eventually opened the door and physically confronted his father grabbing his shirt with two hands. His father did the same, then Singh pushed his father whose lower back/buttocks crashed through a lower glass pane of the back door.
The glass shattered and Gurnam Singh suffered a large deep wound to his upper right buttock, severing a main artery.
He also suffered a cut to his forearm.
The victim was bleeding heavily and pulled himself from the door frame and dragged himself across the porch before collapsing due to extensive blood loss.
Police arrived shortly afterwards and found him unconscious on the deck. He was taken to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition but later died of his injuries.
As the victim was being treated, Singh casually entered the house and had a shower.
