Two Punjabi Men Convicted in Rape Case In New Zealand

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Both men have decided that they will serve their jail time and won’t lodge appeals.

AUCKLAND – Two Punjab-based youth, Parampreet Singh, 27, and Amritpal Singh, 25, who came to New Zealand in 2010, have been found guilty of raping a 17-year-old girl, whom they first met on a dating site, Tagged.

Christchurch District Court judge, David Saunders, jailed Parampreet Singh for seven years and nine months, and Amritpal Singh for seven years and six months on Thursday last week. Both convicts have decided that they will serve their jail term and won’t lodge appeals.

Last month, the jury had found Parampreet guilty of two charges of raping the teenage girl in a late-night incident that took place in a car, and on the roof of the New Brighton Surf Club,Christchurch on December 23, 2013. Parampreet was found not guilty of a sexual violation charge.

Amritpal was found guilty of sexual violation and rape.

Both will be deported from New Zealand as soon as they are released from prison, and the judge said their deportation is “inevitable”.

The victim, who was aged 17 at the time of her double rape in December 2013, was present in court the for the sentencing.

Three trials were held in this case and a Punjabi interpreter was in court to assist during the trials. One was declared a mistrial, while in the second trial, both defendants were found guilty, but the verdicts were quashed by the Court of Appeal and a new trial was ordered.

During their trial, both men denied the charges and claimed they honestly believed the girl had consented. Two juries, however, rejected their claim.

Exact immigration status of Parampreet and Amritpal in New Zealand is not known.

This is not the first case of rape involving Indians in this country.

Gurpinder Singh Brar, 25, and Amritpal Singh Sidhu, 21, are already serving seven years and eight years respectively in jail for kidnapping and raping a 38-year-old woman in Rotorua in September 2013. They also claimed it was consensual. Their first trial ended with a hung jury before the second jury found them guilty.