DPP tells Court of Appeal the non-parole period imposed on Tarikjot Singh for murdering Jasmeen Kaur was ‘manifestly inadequate’

Tarikjot Singh’s non-parole period should be lengthened because it was so low it could “erode” the sentencing standard for murder, a court has been told.

A spurned man who bound, blindfolded and buried nursing student Jasmeen Kaur alive should serve a longer jail term because the non-parole period imposed for her murder could “erode” the sentencing standard for the crime, a court has heard.

In a hearing before the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, prosecutor Jim Pearce KC said Tarikjot Singh’s “pre-planned and calculated” crime fell in “the worst category of murder”.

“He set out to terrorise her and there was a cruelty to the way he killed her, a prolonged cruelty,” he said.

“This was cold-blooded, it was premeditated.

“It was carried out as an act of revenge on someone who was vulnerable.”

After sentencing Singh to life in prison last year, Supreme Court Justice Adam Kimber set a non-parole period of 22-years and 10-months, reduced by 5 per cent to account for his guilty plea from a starting point of 24 years.

Mr Pearce said that starting point was “so low” it amounted to “an implied error of principal” and led to a sentence that was “manifestly inadequate”.

“It fails to give effect to the burgeoning body of knowledge … that now exists around domestic violence,” Mr Pearce said.

He said a starting point of 24 years for this case “just simply erodes the sentencing standards for murder generally”.

Tarikjot Singh‘s sentence of was “manifestly inadequate”, a court was told. Picture: Supplied

Mr Pearce said the appeal should be allowed to ensure appropriate penalties were imposed and to ensure the public confidence in the administration of justice was maintained.

Singh, 23, last year pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Kaur.

The Supreme Court had heard Singh abducted Ms Kaur from her Plympton workplace about 10pm on March 5, 2021.

She was restrained and driven to Moralana Creek, 40km north of Hawker in the Flinders Ranges, before Singh placed her alive – blindfolded and with her hands cable tied behind her back and feet bound – in a shallow grave.

Ms Kaur died from inhaling soil, which had been found in her airways.

Jasmeen Kaur was abducted from her workplace by Singh in March, 2021. Picture: SA police

She was restrained and driven to Moralana Creek, 40km north of Hawker in the Flinders Ranges, before Singh placed her alive – blindfolded and with her hands cable tied behind her back and feet bound – in a shallow grave. Picture: SA Police

The court had heard Singh had a “desire to punish” Ms Kaur because she did not want to be in a relationship with Singh.

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal also heard there had been a change in the Sentencing Act which meant there was “no longer an express direction as to the significance” of the mandatory minimum non-parole period, and whether it continued to be the “starting point” for setting a non-parole period.

Martin Anders, for Singh, said that in sentencing Justice Kimber had appropriately considered his client’s mental health, his young age and emotional instability.

He also told the court his client was likely to face “retribution” for his crime when he is deported back to India on completion of his jail term.

The Court of Appeal, comprising of President Mark Livesey, Justice Sam Doyle and Justice Sophie David, reserved its decision to be handed down at a later date.