‘He was doing his job’: Indian-origin security guard Ramandeep Singh’s killer sentenced to life in New Zealand

Indian-origin Ramandeep Singh was murdered in New Zealand in 2023. The murderer has been given life sentence.

Lorenzo Tangira, a New Zealand man, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 13 years and nine months for beating an Indian-origin security guard to death in 2023. Ramandeep Singh, the 25-year-old Indian man, was just doing his job on a December night in 2023, a second job for some extra income, was confronted by Tangira and a co-offender. Tangira grabbed Singh by the back of his vest, swung him around and punched him repeatedly in the face. Court documents said Singh weighed just 46 kg, and was kicked and stomped, leaving him with multiple skull and facial fractures and severe brain injuries.

Unprovoked, prolonged and gratuitous attack

Justice Geoffrey Venning said this was a prolonged and gratuitous attack on Singh while he was calling for help and escape. “The killing of Mr Singh was unprovoked. He was there doing his job,” he said. The attacker showed no real remorse and admitted to punching Singh but denied responsibility for the fatal blows. The judge noted that Tangira has a violent criminal record and there is a lack of genuine rehabilitation efforts. “You must have known the violence against Mr Singh was extreme and unacceptable,” Justice Venning said. “You had a number of opportunities to stop the assault… but you carried on.”Singh went to Auckland five years before the attack to pursue higher education. On the night of the tragedy, he was working as the security guard of the Royal Reserve. His sister issued a statement that was read by the prosecution in court. “He was my closest friend, my anchor, my guide… And now he’s gone — stolen in the most brutal way. If this can happen to him while simply doing his job in a park, how can any of us feel secure?” the statement read. “Not even an animal would be treated as he was… His loss has torn us apart in ways that cannot be repaired. There’s a silence in our home now — a heaviness, a void that will never be filled,” his parents said.