Gagandeep Singh: Former India Gate Surfers Paradise restaurateur guilty of sadistic, prolonged assault

A Gold Coast restaurateur on meth has been sentenced for a sadistic prolonged assault on a woman, in which he and a co-defendant attacked her with a mallet, multi-tool, and meat tenderiser.

India Gate at Surfers Paradise, which was owned by defendant Gagandeep Singh and his late wife. Picture: My Guide Gold Coast

A Gold Coast restaurateur who turned to meth to deal with the trauma of losing his wife has been sentenced for a sadistic attack on a woman during which he and a co-defendant attacked her with a mallet, a multi-tool, and a meat tenderiser.

Gagandeep Singh, 42, appeared in Southport District Court on Friday having previously pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and in company, and one count each of common assault, deprivation of liberty, wounding, and attempting to corrupt a witness.

Singh, who the court heard formerly owned India Gate restaurant at Surfers Paradise, and another restaurant, has been in custody since March 31, 2023, the date of his prolonged attack on the woman in her own unit. It was in the same block as Singh’s.

The court heard Singh believed his victim, who was friends with his co-defendant, to have broken into his apartment.

Instead of pursuing it via proper channels, Singh approached the woman from behind and struck her repeatedly to the head, body and limbs with a mallet, egged on by the co-defendant, the court heard.

Singh had parallel sentences on Friday in both the Southport magistrates and District courts. Picture: NewsWire / Richard Gosling

This initial attack left the woman with “significant swelling and bruising” to her left eye socket and the left side of her jaw and face, a laceration above her ear, and a fractured hand.

Singh then pinned the woman down with his knees, while his co-defendant armed himself with a meat tenderiser and began striking at the woman’s knees.

The attack continued – Singh produced a multi-tool with scissor attachment, which he used to slice deeply into her right hand and leg, before the pair took turns using the tool to cut chunks of hair from the woman’s head.

At the time of the “degrading” and “terrifying” attack, in the words of Judge David Jackson KC, Singh was on bail for the attempt to corrupt a witness charge.

That charge related to a raid on his India Gate restaurant in October 2017 by five men, during which he and his wife were stabbed.

The court heard Singh instructed one of his chefs to tell investigating police cash had been stolen during the raid, ostensibly in order to make an insurance claim.

Defence counsel James Grehan told the court his client had had multiple mental health diagnoses, including paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar, post-traumatic stress disorder, and polysubstance misuse disorder, all worsened by methamphetamine use.

Defence counsel James Grehan. Picture: Supplied

Singh, who emigrated to Australia from his native India when 21, had a productive but unremarkable life until 2017, when his wife died during childbirth.

The court was told he spiralled into “maladaptive coping strategies”, including drug use.

If he stayed off drugs, his risk of reoffending was “relatively low”, Mr Grehan submitted.

Judge David Jackson KC sentenced Singh to three years’ imprisonment, with immediate court-ordered parole, and imposed several additional jail sentences but suspended them for five years.

Separately to his District Court matter, Singh appeared on Friday in the Southport Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to charges of unlawful stalking, use of a carriage service to harass, wilful damage and public nuisance.

The most serious charges, unlawful stalking and use of a carriage service, related to his bombarding of two people with an inordinate number of calls and messages.

He was convicted and not further punished on all charges bar the use of a carriage service, which was dismissed on the basis of his mental illness.

Singh was expected to be released from custody on Friday afternoon.

Charges relating to his co-defendant remain before the courts.

Originally published as Gagandeep Singh: Former India Gate Surfers Paradise restaurateur guilty of sadistic, prolonged assault