Life sentence for B.C. hit man who killed Malik, as family asks who hired him

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — One of the two hit men who shot Ripudaman Singh Malik to death in Surrey, B.C., in 2022 has been handed a life sentence without parole for 20 years — but the victim’s family still wants to know who hired the pair of young killers.

Tanner Fox, 24, told the B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Tuesday that he was sorry, and was “young and dumb” when he killed Malik, a former suspect in the 1985 Air India bombings.

“I know nothing I say will bring him back and I’m sorry for the role I played in this crime. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel remorse for my actions,” said Fox, dressed in an off-white suit, his hair slicked back.

“I’ve grown to see the error of my ways, and I’m sorry for all the hurt and pain I’ve caused.”

The sentence is in line with a joint recommendation from defence and Crown lawyers.

Malik was shot dead outside his business in July 2022, and while Fox and accomplice Jose Lopez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last October, the identity of whoever ordered the hit has never been publicly revealed.

Lopez is due back in court on Feb. 6.

Malik was acquitted of charges related to the Air India bombings, which a Canadian government report says was the work of Sikh separatists, and his son said his father’s legacy has been unfairly tarnished ever since.

Jaspreet Singh Malik said outside the courthouse after the hearing that Fox’s sentence gives a “small sense of relief,” but those who hired his father’s killers remain at large.

“The only question that remains now is who hired Mr. Fox and Mr. Lopez,” he said. “I’m asking both Mr. Fox and Mr. Lopez to do the right thing. Tell the RCMP who hired you. Let those people be brought to justice.”

Last October, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the force had launched a special unit to investigate multiple cases of extortion, coercion and violence, including murders, linked to agents of the Indian government.

Jaspreet Malik was surrounded by family and supporters outside court and he said his father’s legacy shouldn’t include Air India, but rather his commitment to his family, to education, as well as his work with the Sikh community.

“He was a devoted and loving grandfather. Being the founder of Khalsa Credit Union, being the founder of Khalsa School, and being a family man is what my father should be remembered for,” he said.

Fox and Lopez shot Malik seven times, including six times in the head and neck. Photographic exhibits show Malik’s red Tesla with its windows shattered.

The court heard victim impact statements from Malik’s daughter, Kirat Kaur Malik, and daughter-in-law Sundeep Kaur Dhaliwal, who described him as a loving and dedicated father who valued education and family.

Malik said her father loved his family “unconditionally” and was a “pillar” of the Sikh community, while Dhaliwal addressed Fox directly and urged him to reveal who hired him to “erase” Malik’s legacy.

“Mr. Fox, our father was kind, and you took that kindness out of our life,” she said.

Justice Terence Schultes outlined Fox’s criminal record including robbery, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, obstruction of a peace officer and probation-breach offences.

“Clearly he had fallen into some type of criminal lifestyle,” Schultes said.

“There was nothing in his upbringing that would’ve predicted his involvement in such a serious offence as this one.”

Schultes said it was one of the “additional sad aspects” of the case that Fox was a good student, and noted that Fox plans to pursue post-secondary education while incarcerated.

Fox’s ineligibility for parole until July 2042 corresponds with a 20-year period from the date of his arrest.

Fox and Lopez, who were both in their early 20s at the time of the killing, were originally charged with first-degree murder less than two weeks after the killing.

They later admitted the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

Fox’s lawyer Richard Fowler told the court on Tuesday that the young hit man was adopted by his Canadian parents from Thailand when he was three years old.

“They obviously did all they could,” Fowler told the court.

Fowler told the court that Fox grew up in Abbotsford and was a decent student in high school, though it was impossible to say where he went “awry.”

An agreed statement of facts provided by the BC Prosecution Service says Fox and Lopez were “hired and paid” to carry out the murder, but police and prosecutors have not revealed who they believe hired the pair to assassinate the Sikh businessman.

In 2005, Malik was acquitted in B.C. Supreme Court along with his co-accused, Ajaib Singh Bagri, of charges related to the bombings aimed at two Air India planes that killed 331 people in June 1985. It remains Canada’s worst terrorist attack.

One bomb blew up over the ocean off Ireland, killing all 329 on board, while the second device exploded at Narita airport in Japan, killing two baggage handlers.

A 2005 Canadian government report concluded the bombings were carried out by Sikh Khalistani separatists in Canada, including bomb maker Inderjit Singh Reyat, who was convicted of manslaughter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press