Sean Singh was yesterday handed a 30-year prison sentence for the 2012 killing of his common-law wife, Indrawattie Sugrim, whom he knifed to death.
Referencing the autopsy report that showed that at least 10 incised wounds were inflicted on the woman during the bloody attack, Justice James Bovell-Drakes said that in all the circumstances of the case, he found 30 years to be an appropriate sentence.
Singh, 49, also known as ‘Paul’ was originally indicted for the capital offence of murder, but pleaded to the lesser offence of manslaughter, which was accepted by the prosecution last month.
Throwing himself at the mercy of the court, the man accepted that on November 25th, 2012, he stabbed the woman at her Ninth Field, Cummings Lodge home.
In his address to the court yesterday morning, Singh said he was sorry for his actions, while noting that not a day goes by that he does not think of Indrawattie and what he had done to take her life.
Addressing the many relatives of the woman present in the courtroom, particularly her children, whom he singled out, Singh begged for forgiveness, while stating that he is haunted every day by thoughts of the woman and the wrong he had done to her.
Lamenting the number of stab wounds the woman’s body bore, Justice Bovell-Drakes told Singh that the number of injuries he inflicted on the woman made him cringe. “This was supposed to be someone you loved and admired and you lost it,” Justice Bovell-Drakes told the father of four, whom he said has deprived the children of their mother and even a father, since he would be incarcerated. “I find your conduct to be very disturbing to say the least,” the judge told the offender, while expressing the belief that he inflicted the injuries on the woman, “out of passion.”
“You did exactly what you wanted to do on that day,” the judge told Singh who stood quietly in the prisoner’s dock, seemingly listening intently to all the judge had to say.
The judge admonished the offender to use his time behind bars wisely to acquire needed knowledge and skills that would assist him in positively contributing to society once released from prison.
The judge expressed the hope, also, that Singh would have learnt a lesson from his wrongdoing and impart knowledge to others of his experience as a means of deterrence, so as not to find himself in any similar situation.
Singh was represented by defence attorney Maxwell McKay.
Presenting a summary of the facts, Prosecutor Sarah Martin had said that on the day of the killing, Singh had entered the house with a knife, which prompted screams from the now dead woman, who asked him to put the weapon away.
The prosecutor said that Sugrim’s exclamations were heard by her sister, who lived immediately next door.
According to Martin, the sister heard Sugrim also shout out to her, saying, “Mala ah dead.”
The court was then told that shortly after, the dead woman’s daughter arrived at home and saw Singh exiting the yard with blood on his body carrying a spade and knife in his hand.
Sugrim was 40 years old at the time of her death and she and Singh had shared an on-and-off relationship, which relatives said was abusive.
It had been reported that the woman’s son had repeatedly pleaded with her to end her relationship with Singh after he witnessed several acts of violence meted out to her, but she did not listen to him.
