THE Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced on Monday that it has arrested a 28-year old man from Surrey with the assistance of the Integrated Emergency Response Team in relation to the April 23 homicide of Kulwinder Singh Sohi.
On April 23 at 9:26 p.m., White Rock RCMP responded to a report of injured man in the 15400-block of Marine Drive. Officers along with BC Ambulance Emergency Health Services located a 26-year-old man, later identified as Sohi, on the White Rock Promenade at the parking lot adjacent to the Grand Chief Bernard Robert Charles (Pa-Kwach-Tun) Memorial Plaza, suffering from fatal stab wounds.
Last Friday, IHIT said that witnesses described seeing Sohi in a physical altercation with the suspect, before giving chase eastbound on the promenade toward the parking lot adjacent to the Plaza.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) took conduct of the investigation and continues to work closely in partnership with the White Rock RCMP, the BC Coroners Service and the Integrated Forensic Identification Services.
“This remains a very active investigation,” said IHIT Sgt. Timothy Pierotti. “We recognize the public’s concern for safety and want to provide updates as soon as possible.
IHIT is asking that any witnesses or anyone who was in the area of the White Rock Promenade, east of the White Rock Pier near the parking lot adjacent to the Grand Chief Bernard Robert Charles (Pa-Kwach-Tun) Memorial Plaza or driving on Marine Drive on April 23 between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., with dash cameras or anyone who may have information regarding the homicide to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
IHIT said it would provide more information as it became available.
THE suspect who stabbed and killed Sohi on Tuesday night last week on the White Rock waterfront could be the same man who stabbed and injured Jatinder Singh near the White Rock Pier on night of Sunday, April 21.
The suspect in Tuesday’s homicide is described as a black male, 5’11”, wearing a hat and a grey hoodie with the hood up over the hat. He was last seeing fleeing northbound from the promenade towards Marine Drive.
The suspect in the April 21 stabbing incident is described as a black male, wearing a ball cap and a grey hoodie.
White Rock RCMP had said that given the apparent similarities between these two incidents, they are investigating to determine whether or not there is a conclusive link between the two events.
The homicide victim’s relatives told the media that he was stabbed in the back and in the heart while sitting with a friend at the beach.
Well-known Punjabi journalist Gurpreet Singh Sahota identified the victim in a tweet, saying Sohi was a plumber who came to Canada in 2018 on a work permit and got his permanent residency not long ago. He belonged to village Tolewal (Sangrur) in Punjab.
On the night of April 21, Jatinder Singh, who was on an outing with his wife, Manpreet Kaur, was stabbed in the neck without any provocation while the couple were drinking coffee on a bench.
White Rock RCMP said that on April 21 at approximately 9 p.m., they received a report that someone had been stabbed near the White Rock Pier. Police located the 28-year-old victim and provided first aid until paramedics arrived. The victim was transported to hospital by Emergency Health Services with non-life-threatening injuries.
The couple had arrived in Canada from India just a couple of months ago. Manpreet told Global BC that although she screamed for help, no one came to aid them. She finally called 911 herself. To add to her distress, she was not allowed to accompany her husband in the ambulance. And to make matters worse, police goofed up by first taking her to the wrong hospital and then, when they arrived at the right one, she told Global News they demanded that she provide a statement before seeing her husband. But she told the officers that she would not do so until she had confirmed her husband’s condition.
The couple were in a dilemma about how they would be able to pay the hospital bill as they had no medical insurance. The husband is the sole breadwinner and it will be a challenge to make ends meet. However, the Ministry of Health backdated Jatinder’s medical insurance so that his health expenses could be covered.
