But who hired the killers – and why?
TANNER Fox, 24, one of the two men who pleaded guilty last October to the lesser charge of second-degree murder in the July 14, 2022 shooting death of Ripudaman Singh Malik, 75, in Surrey, was on Tuesday sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 20 years.
Malik, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing, was shot dead at a business complex at 8236 128 Street where his business Papillon Eastern Imports Ltd is located.
As the prosecutor stated in the B.C. Supreme Court: “On July 14, 2022 at approximately 9:24 a.m., Mr. Fox and Mr. [Jose] Lopez acted together to shoot and kill Mr. Malik as he sat in his vehicle in the parking lot of his business. They shot him multiple times. This was a planned and deliberate killing of Mr. Malik, and they were financially compensated for killing him.”
The prosecutor said that two handguns were used in the killing with seven shots fired at close proximity from outside the driver’s side of the Tesla. The shots struck Malik from his left side, and he was killed while sitting in the driver’s seat.
Lopez is expected to appear in court in March for sentencing.
“It is our hope that the sentence delivered [Tuesday] serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of taking another life and that no amount of money is worth life in prison,” said Sgt. Freda Fong of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). “The result of this investigation is a testament to the hard work of IHIT and our policing partners.”

(December 3, 2019 photo by Abbotsford Police)
As reported by The VOICE at the time, IHIT was called in to investigate Malik’s murder. Homicide investigators identified a suspect vehicle used in the shooting. A white Honda CRV was captured on CCTV hours before the shooting. This white Honda CRV was then found in flames at 122 Street and 82 Avenue.
Fox, then 21, and Lopez, then 23, were arrested on July 22, 2022, for Malik’s murder.


Sources told The VOICE at the time that neither of the two had known gang affiliations and it seemed that the two were hired to kill Malik. Both of them had a history of run-ins with police.
On Tuesday, Fox expressed remorse in court but did not reveal who had hired him and Lopez to carry out the assassination in spite of pleas by the Malik’s family members.
The VOICE wrote in July 2022: “Earlier this year, sources told The VOICE that Malik may have been targeted because he reportedly wrote a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his “deep heartfelt gratitude” for the unprecedented positive steps taken by his government for the Sikh community, as reported by the Hindustan Times newspaper of India on January 18.”
He also “showed concerns at an “orchestrated campaign” by some misguided members of the Sikh community against the Modi government and India,” the newspaper said.
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