Man pleads guilty to murder charge
EVENING OF DRINKING LED TO FATAL ASSAULT IN WEST LONDON
THE murder trial of an Asian man found in an alleyway in west London last year changed course at a London court on Tuesday (27) when the accused pleaded guilty to the killing.
Manpreet Singh, 21, admitted the murder of 37-year-old Baljit Singh on the second day of a trial at Isleworth crown court.
Baljit, who lived in Hayes, west London, was pronounced dead at the scene after the Metropolitan Police and London Ambulance Service were called to Station Road on April 25 last year.
The court heard how Manpreet met Baljit in the weeks prior to the attack, after travelling from Birmingham to London with a mutual acquaintance in seek of work. The pair had briefly lived together, but had a falling out prior to the attack.
Afterwards Manpreet, who struggled with excessive drinking, had been living on the streets with his friend. On April 25, 2020, the three men met in the early evening and drank together at a venue on Uxbridge Road in Hayes. Baljit was extremely drunk by the end of the evening and left with Manpreet and their friend, the court heard.
CCTV footage captured the three of them walking together, with Baljit struggling to stay upright. Just after 10 pm, Manpreet and Baljit entered an alleyway off Station Road where Manpreet launched his deadly assault. Baljit’s body was discovered 45 minutes later by a passer-by and the London Ambulance Service was called, but nothing could be done to save his life.
A post-mortem examination found that Baljit had suffered 20 injuries, including broken bones in his neck, sternum, and ribs, along with various bruises and lacerations.
Manpreet was arrested but he initially denied being with Baljit around the time of the murder. However, after being shown CCTV footage of the pair he changed his story, admitting he had been with him, but continued to deny the attack.
That changed with his guilty plea in the case this week.
“Baljit Singh suffered a brutal and sustained assault at the hands of Manpreet Singh – an assault which cost him his life,” said Detective Inspector Adam Guttridge from the Met Police’s Specialist Crime Command (Homicide). “Baljit would not have been in a position to defend himself given his slight frame and the amount of alcohol that he had consumed that evening. Manpreet snapped in anger and took advantage of the circumstances to carry out this horribly violent attack.
“His problems with drink and his lifestyle may have played a part in the events that night, but they offer no excuse for taking another man’s life in such a vicious way.”
Manpreet was due to be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday (28).