NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — One of the two hit men who shot Ripudaman Singh Malik to death in Surrey, B.C., almost three years ago has been handed a life sentence without a chance of parole for 20 years.
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Jose Lopez, who is now 26 years old, is set to be eligible for parole in 2042, taking into account time served.
The sentence is in line with a joint recommendation from defence and Crown lawyers.
Justice Terence Schultes told the British Columbia Supreme Court hearing in New Westminster that mitigating factors in determining parole eligibility included Lopez’s young age at the time of the killing along with his guilty plea to the charge of second-degree murder.
Schultes said the aggravating factors included the public nature of the killing, the degree of planning involved, which included disguises and “reconnaissance,” and the fact Malik was “defenceless” when he was murdered.
The judge also pointed to the motive of financial gain and Lopez’s criminal record, which includes assault convictions from 2019.
Schultes waived the requirement for Lopez to pay a victim surcharge, saying it would constitute “undue hardship” given the lengthy sentence ahead of him.
The other man convicted in the case, Tanner Fox, was also handed a life sentence without parole for 20 years at his sentencing hearing in January.
Fox and Lopez, who were both in their early 20s at the time of the killing, were originally charged with first-degree murder.
The pair shot Malik seven times, including six times in the head and neck, and photographic exhibits show Malik’s red Tesla with its windows shattered.
Sundeep Kaur Dhaliwal, the eldest daughter-in-law of Malik, gave a victim impact statement ahead of Lopez’s sentencing, telling him directly that he “allowed someone to hire you to take away my children’s grandfather.”
Crown lawyer Matthew Stacey told the hearing that Malik, a former suspect in the 1985 Air India bombings, was killed in a “public cold-blooded execution” with multiple shots fired in a public place, endangering bystanders in the community.
In 2005, Malik was acquitted in B.C. Supreme Court along with his co-accused, Ajaib Singh Bagri, of charges related to the bombings aimed at two Air India planes that killed 331 people in June 1985. It remains Canada’s worst terrorist attack.
Malik’s son, Jaspreet Singh Malik has said his father’s legacy has been unfairly tarnished ever since.
One bomb blew up over the ocean off Ireland, killing all 329 on board, while the second device exploded at Narita airport in Japan, killing two baggage handlers.
A 2005 Canadian government report concluded the bombings were carried out by Sikh Khalistani separatists in Canada, including bomb maker Inderjit Singh Reyat, who was convicted of manslaughter.