A man who was convicted of a violent assault in Abbotsford in 2021 has had his application rejected for a court-appointed lawyer for an appeal.
The Court of Appeal for B.C. dismissed Amrinder Singh’s application on April 14, saying he would have no “realistic prospect” to win an appeal of his conviction; therefore, he would not need a lawyer.
Legal Aid BC had assessed Singh’s file and denied funding, and he has “insufficient means” to obtain one on his own, court documents indicate.
Singh, 29, was sentenced in February 2025 to eight years in prison for a violent assault that occurred on Sept. 14, 2021.
“The attack included violence inflicted by hands, baseball bats, sticks, a knife and a gun,” the court ruling states.
“After the attack, the victim was thrown naked into the water. He sought help from nearby houses. No one answered their doorbell. Police found the victim in someone’s driveway.”
The ruling states that Singh’s assault against the victim including stabbing him in the back, placing a fake gun under his chin while threatening to him, and hitting him with a baseball bat.
Two others were charged in relation to the assault.
“(Singh) had no apparent motive for joining in the attack. He was intoxicated. In addition to stab wounds, the victim suffered a broken finger that remains deformed and lasting facial disfigurement,” the court documents state.
After receiving credit for pre-sentence time spent in custody, Singh had another six years and nine months left in prison at the time of sentencing.
He was convicted of four offences – aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, sexual assault with a weapon and using an imitation firearm.
Singh wants to appeal his conviction on the grounds, he says, that the trial judge made errors, including that certain witness identification evidence was considered reliable.
He says other errors made include that his trial lawyer failed to tell him he could elect a jury trial and that some of the things he told police in his statement were not true because he wanted to be released from custody.
Appeals court Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten stated in her written ruling that the trial judge had determined that the evidence – including photos and video – against the three accused was “overwhelming.”
“Given the extent of the evidence relevant to the issue of identity, I consider it highly unlike the appellant (Singh) will succeed in challenging the judge’s finding of fact that he was involved in the group attack and did the things attributed to him,” she wrote.
“ … After reviewing the entirety of the material before me and assessing the grounds of appeal as framed, I have concluded there is no realistic prospect a division of this court will interfere with the guilty verdict.”
The justice noted that Singh can still attempt to appeal his conviction on his own, although he has not yet filed any of the required materials.