Monday, February 25, 2008

Self-Defence Hero Or Murderer?

An Indian-origin shopkeeper in the United Kingdom who could face murder a charge for killing his assailant in self-defence should be rewarded for bravery and not prosecuted, many Britons feel.

In discussion boards and letters to editors, several people have called Tony Singh a "local hero" and expressed support for him. They believe he should be given a bravery award for grappling with his assailant who had a history of criminal acts.

Singh, 34, who owns a shop in Skelmersdale in Lancashire, was leaving for home after closing his shop last Sunday when he was attacked by a hooded man who tried to rob him.

During the struggle to defend himself, Singh took possession of the robber's knife, and in the scuffle, the assailant, identified as Liam Kilroe, died after suffering a stab wound in the chest.

The police said they were preparing a report for the Crown Prosecution Service, which will decide whether to charge Singh, who was also injured during the fight, over the death.

A posting on a Lancashire discussion board said: "The man should have a medal pinned to his chest - not having the thought of imprisonment looming over him. It appears he was simply protecting himself in a life and death struggle. I have not one ounce of pity for the criminal."

Roger Moreton, from Warwickshire, wrote: "Far from being prosecuted, or even arrested, the plucky shopkeeper Tony Singh, should be given a bravery award."

The current law permits people to use "reasonable force" to defend themselves and others. Critics claim it is weighted in favour of the criminal.

Singh, who required hospital treatment for knife injuries to his neck and back, has been quizzed by detectives from Lancashire Police's Major Incident Team.

The case is likely to re-open the debate about householders being allowed to use force to defend themselves and their properties. Singh said that he feared he could have been killed in the encounter. (Rediff News)

***** So is he a hero or a murderer? Have your say.
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6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

if he's a murderer, let's go back into the jungles. there's a better civilisation in there...

12:04 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Monsterball said...

An assailant walks into a shop brandishing a knife and gets killed in the ensuing tussle.
Murder ? Nah...Its unreasonable force only if the assailant had given up, was already down , injured etc. and still got stabbed...

If you walk into a private premises as an unwelcome intruder, armed and threatening violence, you lose a lot of the normal legal protections. If the tussle occured in a public place, then it would be a more doubtful case. Even then, self-defense can be an effective legal argument.

12:05 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought only in Malaysia we have those idiot law enforcer trying to prosecute the victims (like the missing child's parents for negligence).
Now we have it in UK??

12:44 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its Britain's loony leftist bureaucracy at work here. Not surprising. Britainstan's law enforcers all suffer from cranial rectal inversion, and this is another proof.

4:35 PM GMT+8  
Blogger bayi said...

Britain is a very strange country, don't you think?

God forbid that this happens in Malaysia. Otherwise we would be swarmed by illegal immigrants and not be able to protect ourselves!

8:54 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bayi....your prayers are not answered. An [insert a race (i)] girl was just convicted with MURDER (not even manslaughter), with 20 year jail term for killing a [insert a race (m)] the man who break into her house to rob her and tried to rape her. The so called 'murder weapon' is the parang which is held agaisnt her neck in her house. The judge's verdict? It's brutality of the girl to kill the man because it is not necessary. So ya....law is not justice after all

1:29 PM GMT+8  

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