Indian student Deepinderjeet Singh, 27, died in a fatal drowning incident in Australia last year. A 19-year-old from the city Hobart has since been sentenced to four years in prison, according to Australian reports.
The development in the Indian student’s drowning death case has particularly sparked outrage this past week. According to Australia’s ABC news outlet, the held responsible for the robbery-fuelled death pleaded guilty to Singh’s fatal drowning. At the time of the incident, the person was 17 years old.
Singh was in the Australian city Hobart to study at the University of Tasmania.
Indian student death in Australia: 2 years scrubbed from wrongdoer’s sentence
The final two years of offender’s sentence have now been suspended, with new orders to complete 100 hours of community service. The now-19-year-old wrongdoer has also been told to report regularly to a probation officer and stay off alcohol.
Yet to be named in public reports due to legal reasons, the individual recently appeared in the Supreme court of Tasmania. In light of the offender’s young age, the decided-upon condition have been held up to drive the attention towards his rehabilitations, according to Chief Justice Christopher Shanahan.
“These are not normal conditions … if you breach these conditions, you may be brought back for re-sentencing,” the chief justice said Friday. Seeing the unusual extent of support from the offender’s friends and family at the supreme court, Shanahan added, “Nothing can bring back the life that has been taken, but this gives you the best chance at rehabilitation … whether you take it, that is up to you.”
The chief justice also believed that the offender has displayed genuine remorse over what happened. As a result, the teenager is scheduled to be released from Ashley Youth Detention Centre in early 2026, according to the Pulse Tasmania.
Deepinderjeet Singh’s drowning death: What happened?
On January 29, 2024, Singh was out on a first date with a woman he’d met online. They were sitting on Hobart’s waterfront when the then-17-year-old pushed both of them into the water in an attempt to steal the lady’s bag.
According to Australian report, neither of the two knew how to swim. Nonetheless, the woman was saved after having fortunately clung to a nearby railing. A different fate befell Singh. Despite some bystanders trying their all rescue him at the time, the 27-year-old was ultimately found unresponsive in the water. An autopsy eventually linked his death to drowning.
A total of four people, including three teens and an adult, were arrested in connection with the incident in 2024. They were all charged with aggravated robbery, with the then-17-year-old being charged with manslaughter as well.
As per the Supreme Court, the teen in question was fishing with his friends and family when someone among his acquaintances urged him to push Singh and the woman into the water and snatch the latter’s handbag. At the time, the teen is said to have fled the scene in a vehicle, as per Pulse Tasmania.
He eventually called a relative saying, ““I f—ing pushed them in. I got the f—ing bag.”
Chips and chocolate were bought at Kmart using the stolen credit card. The gravity of the situation only hit the person when the news of Singh’s death hit social media. The regret-ridden individual then told acquaintances, “What have I done? And why do I let people talk me into things?”