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The offender, Chamanjot Singh, was charged with the murder of his wife, Manpreet Kaur, on 29 December 2009. He pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, on the grounds of provocation. The Crown did not accept that plea and the matter proceeded to a trial with a jury. The jury acquitted the offender of murder but convicted him of manslaughter.
Mr Singh claimed that his wife, Manpreet Kaur, provoked him by telling him she had never loved him, was in love with someone else and threatened to have him deported and, that as a result, he lost his self-control and killed her. Mr Singh was convicted of manslaughter based on the partial defence of provocation and sentenced to a non-parole term of imprisonment of six years.
The only issue at trial was whether the Crown could prove beyond reasonable doubt that the offender did not act under provocation. Having regard to the circumstances of the death of the deceased, there can be no doubt that the offender killed his wife when he had lost self-control. The only significant issue was whether or not an ordinary person, in the position of the offender, would have formed an intention to kill in the circumstances. The jury was not satisfied that an ordinary person would not respond in the manner alleged.
Singh v R [2012] NSWSC 637, 7 June 2012. Lawcite
Provocation can be used as a partial defence to murder - if it is accepted it means a conviction of manslaughter instead of murder (Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) section 23). This section was repealed and replaced by the Crimes Amendment (Provocation) Act 2014 (NSW) Act No 13 (Assented on 20 May 2014 and commenced on 13 June 2014).
See the definition of provocation in the Australian Law Dictionary (available on eResources if you have a library card).
1. Partial Defence of Provocation Inquiry, NSW Parliament Legislative Council, established in 2012. You can find the timeline of the inquiry, reports and government responses, hearings and transcripts, and submissions.
2. Provocation and self-defence in intimate partner and sexual advance homicides by Lenny Roth and Lynsey Blayden, NSW Parliamentary Library Research Briefing Paper 5/2012. The paper discusses criticism of the provocation defence, and looks at reforms in other states and territories. There are also statistics provided on the use of the defence.
3. Find newspaper artices on ProQuest Australia and New Zealand Newsstand available to registered State Library clients. Type in Singh and provocation.
This guide has been developed by staff of the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC), State Library of NSW. The State Library holds an extensive collection of case law, legislation and looseleaf publications.
Manpreet Kaur
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