Ex Lorry Driver Sentenced To Death On Birthday For Murdering Wife Infant

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A three-member Federal Court bench said the death penalty was the appropriate sentence as Satvender Singh had also taken an infant’s life. (Bernama pic)
PUTRAJAYA: A former lorry driver who turned 39 today was sentenced to death by the Federal Court for murdering his wife and their seven-month-old daughter eight years ago.
A three-member bench chaired by Justice Rhodzariah Bujang said the death penalty was the appropriate sentence as Satvender Singh had also taken an infant’s life.
Satvender was calm when the sentence was pronounced, but his wife’s sister broke down and “thanked” the court that justice had finally been done.
In her broad grounds, Rhodzariah, who sat with Justices Abu Bakar Jais and Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, said there was overwhelming evidence that Satvender committed the murders.
Today’s ruling reinstates the decision of the High Court and sets aside the Court of Appeal ruling.
“There is very clear and irrefutable circumstantial evidence which irresistibly points to his culpability being the perpetrator of the crime against his wife and daughter,” she said.
Satvender was found to have murdered D Kamaljit, 34, and their daughter, Ishilyn Kaur Sandhu, at a house in Taman Rawang Perdana 2, Rawang, Selangor, between 3.55am and 4.15am on April 14, 2016.
The Court of Appeal had substituted the murder charge against his wife and sentenced Satvender to 20 years’ jail for culpable homicide not amounting to murder instead.
It also acquitted Satvender of the murder of the child.
The High Court had in 2021 sentenced him to death for both murders.
The prosecution appealed to reinstate the High Court verdicts while Satvender appealed against the conviction imposed for killing his wife.
Deputy public prosecutor Noorhisham Jaafar, in pressing for the death penalty, said the accused caused the death of his wife by strangling her, while the infant’s death was the result of asphyxia.
“He planned the murder and later staged a crime scene to cover his tracks and confuse the police investigators,” he said.
Noorhisham said Satvender staged a forced entry into their home through the back door when he was not at home.
He said the accused cut the back door’s padlock and left it on the floor to give the impression that there was forced entry by a third party.
“The cupboard in the master bedroom was made to appear as if it was ransacked,” he said, adding that Satvender had physically abused his wife during their marriage before finally taking her life.
“We urge this bench to consider public interest as two innocent lives were lost in a gruesome manner,” he said.
Lawyer S Arvind, who held a watching brief for Kamaljit’s mother, also urged the bench to restore the High Court decision as her death had left an “irreplaceable void” on the family.
Counsel Rajpal Singh, who represented Satvender, urged the court to impose the minimum 30-year jail term to give the accused an opportunity to become a responsible citizen upon his release.
“He will not be a threat to society as he will be an elderly person after serving the jail term,” he said, adding that the motive for the murders had not been established. - FMT

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