In today’s headlines with Chereè Kinnear, David Seymour outlines expectations for Pharmac, new speed-camera signage and Tenacious D world tour gets halted.
A man has admitted ramming the car of radio host Harnek Singh before he was attacked by a trio of Sikh devotees intent on stabbing him to death.
Hardeep Singh Sandhu is facing up to five years in prison after admitting injuring with intent to injure for hisrole in the attack.
But the Crown now says it is accepted he did not know the plan was to kill the popular host and YouTuber.
He drove his van into Harnek Singh’s car to immobilise the vehicle before three devotees of a religious leader who wanted the host dead sprang from their ute and launched into their attack, wielding bats and knives.
Against all odds, he survived the attack in his driveway after a police officer arrived at the scene and managed to stem the bleeding using a tourniquet on his arm.
Religious leader Gurinderpal Singh Brar, whose devotees carried out the attack at his behest, was found guilty of procuring attempted murder following a trial.
Justice Mark Woolford sentenced Brar in November to 13 and a half years’ imprisonment, describing the attack as having “all the hallmarks of religious fanaticism”.
His sentence was later extended after he pleaded guilty to beating three of his devotees nearly a decade ago.
On Wednesday Hardeep Singh Sandhu appeared in the High Court at Auckland before Justice Matthew Downs.
The appearance was originally to allocate a trial date for him to defend an attempted murder charge.
However, in the end his lawyer Bradley Moyer entered a guilty plea to a reduced charge of injuring with intent to injure, carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Attempted murder has a maximum penalty of 14 years.
The summary of facts Singh Sandhu admitted, released to the Herald, said Harnek Singh runs a radio station from his Sikh temple in Papatoetoe and maintains a popular YouTube Channel, where he airs his views on politics and the Sikh religion.
“His opinions about the Sikh religion and about politics in India have attracted strong criticism from more conservative and fundamentalist sections of the Sikh community,” the summary said.
Radio host Harnek Singh was attacked in his driveway in December 2020.
Singh Sandhu was a devotee of Brar and a regular attendee at his temple in East Tamaki.
His devotees came to believe he was a god-like figure, court documents state.
In 2020, Brar became enraged at Harnek Singh’s public statements and resolved to kill him.
His plans evolved from ramming the radio host off the road, to shooting him then finally to a plot where he would be stabbed to death.
The summary of facts prepared by the Crown said it is accepted Singh Sandhu did not know the plan was actually to go as far as killing Harnek Singh.
On December 21, 2020, two days before the attack, he exchanged messages with another devotee where they discussed planting a GPS device on Harnek Singh’s car. It appears no device was actually planted.
Evidence obtained from his phone show extensive searches relating to the area of the victim’s home in Wattle Downs and his temple in Papatoetoe.
On December 23, Brar gave final instructions to the devotees, who were to break into Harnek Singh’s car and stab him to death.
Singh Sandhu’s role was to ram into the host’s car to immobilise it ahead of the attack.
As Harnek Singh drove home from his Papatoetoe temple shortly after 10pm, he was followed by a black Ford Ranger containing the three devotees who were to attack the man, while Singh Sandhu followed in a white Toyota Hiace van.
As the victim pulled into his driveway, Singh Sandhu forcefully rammed his van into the radio host and YouTuber’s vehicle.
Meanwhile, the three occupants of the Ranger left the ute carrying bats and knives and began striking his windows.
“The three attackers broke the driver’s-side window and began stabbing the complainant all over his upper body, inflicting approximately 40 stabs and cuts to his arms, chest, neck and head area,” the summary of facts states.
“The attack stopped when one of the attackers accidentally cut another attacker’s hand, causing him to drop his knife. At that point the three attackers left the scene in their vehicle, presuming the complainant to be dead or dying.”
Auckland-based Sikh religious leader Gurinderpal Brar appears in the High Court at Auckland in September 2023 for his attempted murder trial. Jurors found him guilty of orchestrating the knife attack on radio host Harnek Singh. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Harnek Singh survived the attack despite massive blood loss.
Without the help of the police officer who applied a torniquet, he would have bled out at the scene, the summary notes.
However, his road to recovery was long and he suffered injuries including permanent nerve damage to his arm.
For the purposes of Singh Sandhu’s sentencing, the Crown accepted he knew the plan was to attack the host and intended to assist by ramming Harnek Singh’s vehicle with his van to immobilise it.
However, he was unaware the trio in the Ford Ranger were carrying weapons or that they planned to kill their victim, the Crown summary states.
Justice Downs remanded Singh Sandhu on bail ahead of his sentencing on August 27.
