“I am sorry for what I did that day at the monument. I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” wrote the man who urinated on the Komagata Maru Memorial. But is he really sorry or did he just scribble his name onto it because Vancouver Police asked him to? “Yesterday afternoon, we located the suspect and he agreed to apologize for his actions,” police stated. If there was to be an apology then the suspect should have also been present at the conference. This is nothing but “damage control”. The police screwed up and now are just covering up with the aid of our great community leaders, stated witness Pargat Singh Mattu. So may this urinating man has mental health issues, why didn’t the police state that right away. The problem is not so much the case itself but all the distortions and politics associated with it. In the end the community feels betrayed and insulted not just by the lack of action but the distortions and assumption of our stupidity.
VANCOUVER – The Komagata Maru memorial urinating story took another dramatic twist this week. The incident took place on December 2 and was reported to the Vancouver Police by witness Pargat Singh Mattu.
However, the person in question was never charged and instead excuses were made. At first, they claimed that the perpetrator was “fairly intoxicated”.
How did the Police arrive at this conclusion when they were still attempting to locate him?
In addition, the two witnesses had stated that there was no intoxication and that the culprit was functioning very normal. This contradicted the Police claim.
Then there was mention of the “hate crimes” unit investigating which was soon followed by a statement by Vancouver Police SGT. Randy Fincham that: “At this point it isn’t believed that this was a hate crime focused on any one particular group and the investigation is closed at this point.”
That was very interesting because the individual could have urinated anywhere but targeted the monument which is located in the open. In addition, he did not become confrontational with others walking by but chose his targets, two Indo-Canadians, visiting the site.
At first the suspect threw a soccer ball at the memorial to instigate and then verbally abused the two individuals. He became very threatening and intimidating. Soon after he urinated on the memorial with additional threats of “I can piss on this thing 40,000 times”.
This week the police stated that the individual has not been charged with anything and furthermore he will not even get a ticket for urinating in a public place.
One reason for not charging and the delay was that the witness Mattu, did not come in despite their request.
However, Mattu told the LINK that he filed a complaint on December 2 and emailed the evidence photos on December 3 to the officer. The Police called him on December 11 while he was busy at work and had a brief discussion.
Mattu offered to call them back and returned the call later that day for further discussion. Unfortunately, he was not able to get the officer and tried again on December 12 and left messages both times. No one returned his calls. So he waited a few days and then called again on December 17 and 18 and again left messages on both days. At that point he discussed the situation with the receptionist and questioned as to why nobody was returning his calls despite numerous messages. She told him that “maybe his witness is not needed”.
Ironically, this week the police stated at their press conference with “community leaders” who were quiet for the past month and half but found it important to show up for the final rescue for the photo op, “we identified the suspect and we were trying to further the investigation but we needed the main witness to provide to us a statement, ” said the police.
In addition they claimed that “Thorough the help of Khalsa Diwan Society President Sohan Deo, this witness agreed to cooperate, and on Thursday he came forward for an interview”.
But the main witness was ready to provide a statement and tried diligently but they did not find it necessary to return his calls.
“I was cooperating from the beginning and called them so many times,” Mattu said.
Mattu is surprised that such claims are now being made. As for Deo, Mattu said: “he did call me and there was general discussion regarding the incident and not what the police are claiming.”
Mattu also challenged Police and Deo’s claim that the suspect had mental problems.
“I asked him if there had been a medical evaluation.”
The same question was asked to the Police by a reporter and the answer was “no”.
“I asked him if the suspect has mental issues then the police should declare that” but Deo told him that the police cannot discuss that publically.”
Ironically, the police did discuss it and made that claim publically at the press conference.
Mattu is frustrated and angered at how this case was handled.
“If they wanted to talk to me all they had to do was call me or at least return my calls. They also could have emailed me. How is it possible that all the media outlets in the lower mainland were able to find me and talk but the police that had all my information were not? Did the police ask Deo to call me and did they give him my number?, ” Mattu asked.
Amazingly after waiting for over a month, Mattu was finally contacted by the police on January 15 for an interview, just one day before the big press conference, which he gave two hours later. He wanted something done. Either charges to be laid or at the very least a bylaw ticket issued and if there was proof of mental problems then the suspect be provided with medical attention.
Mattu was unaware of the status of the case when the police, mayor and “community leaders” showcased it to the public. The final verdict, “based on the interview results, we confirmed that our only option in the justice system was a bylaw ticket for urinating in public”.
Nevertheless, the police did not issue a ticket. Instead they preseted a note for the suspect: “I am sorry for what I did that day at the monument. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
Is he really sorry or did he just scribble his name onto it because they asked him to?
“Yesterday afternoon, we located the suspect and he agreed to apologize for his actions,” police stated.
If there was to be an apology then the suspect should have also been present at the conference. This is nothing but “damage control”. They screwed up and now are just covering up with the aid of our great leaders. These feelings were also conveyed by the community on the Punjabi radio talk shows. It would have been much simpler for them to have dealt with this case in December. They did nothing. Therefore the story changed many times and in the end there are no charges and no deterrent for anyone else that may desecrate the monument again. This was a simple case that the Vancouver Police should have handled immediately and competently. Instead, they misjudged and attempted to sweep it away.
In the end the mayor and community “leaders” that were quiet throughout but were on centre stage to take credit in dramatic style had to be involved.
The problem is not so much the case itself but all the distortions and politics associated with it. In the end the community feels betrayed and insulted not just by the lack of action but the distortions and assumption of our stupidity.
