Ramandeep Singh fronts court over prolonged police pursuit

A week after relapsing, a father-of-three living illegally in Australia robbed a woman then led police on a 30-minute pursuit through Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Ramandeep Singh was arrested after a 30-minute police chase through Melbourne’s western suburbs.

An overstayer in Australia jailed for leading police on a wild chase though Melbourne’s western suburbs after robbing a woman has been released due to time served on remand.

Ramandeep Singh was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment when he fronted the County Court on Friday but walked out of court a free man having already served 335 days on remand since his arrest.

The 35-year-old concreter from Werribee led police on a dramatic 30-minute pursuit before he was eventually boxed in and arrested in Tarneit in the early hours of March 30, 2024.

About 15 minutes prior to the pursuit, the Indian national — who had been living in Australia illegally since 2019 when his visa expired — robbed a woman of her handbag at Hoppers Crossing using a hammer.

Cannabis and meth Ramandeep Singh relapsed just a week prior to robbing a woman and leading police on a wild chase on Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Multiple police cars and the Air Wing joined the pursuit after Singh initially failed to stop the stolen Mitsubishi Lancer he was driving along Derrimut Rd.

Singh continued driving with multiple flat tyres and rims on the wrong side of the road and attempted to overtake cars in residential areas.

Singh was boxed in and arrested on Polly Parade in Tarneit and taken to Werribee police station.

Judge Carolene Gwynn said Singh became addicted to cannabis and methamphetamine while working in the construction sector which led to a breakdown in his marriage.

However, she said the father-of-three continued to work and address his drug addiction until a week before the offending when he relapsed.

“The primary context of your offending was your drug addiction and if you deal with it, there’s no reason why you can’t be a law-abiding citizen,” Judge Gwynn said.

Although the armed robbery was serious, she accepted that it was spontaneous and opportunistic which would be “cold comfort” to his victim.

On the driving charges, Judge Gwynn said Singh showed complete disregard for the safety of others and that his behaviour necessitated the use of multiple police resources.

“Your driving placed yourself, police members and others at risk. It happened in the early hours and it was only through good fortune and good management that no one was injured.”