A MAN has been jailed for at least eight years for the “ferocious” killing of his best friend with whom his estranged wife had been having an affair.
Expectant father, Rajnesh Singh, 27, was stabbed repeatedly with a knife in the stomach and back on February 11, 2007, in what medical experts said would have been a long and “agonising death”.
His body was then dumped from a rock ledge in bushland on the outskirts of Sydney.
Munesh Pravin Goundar, now 31, was charged with Mr Singh’s murder after being arrested several days after the killing in New Zealand, where he had fled.
A Supreme Court jury in June found Goundar not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, and on Friday he was sentenced in Sydney by Justice David Kirby to serve at least eight years’ jail with a full sentence of 10 years and eight months.
In 2005, Goundar and his wife Diana lived at Prestons in southwestern Sydney and were neighbours with the single Mr Singh and his family.
The three became friends and when the Goundars’ marriage broke down, she and Mr Singh began a sexual relationship.
However, in evidence tendered to the court, Diana Goundar knew that Mr Singh was having an affair with another woman, who had become pregnant with his child.
On February 11, 2007 Mr Singh was invited to attend the Prestons property by Diana Goundar, unaware that Goundar was also at the premises.
Believing his estranged wife was about to have sex with Mr Singh, Justice Kirby said Goundar fought with the victim, initially having a fist fight in the master bedroom.
“You betrayed me. I was your friend. I was your brother,” Goundar said as the pair fought.
Then a knife was produced by Goundar and Mr Singh was stabbed at least five times, during which he was dragged into a nearby bathroom.
“Rajnesh Singh, while still alive, was put in the bath, presumably because he was bleeding profusely,” Justice Kirby said.
“The bath was then filled. He was moaning and clearly in pain. It is plain that he took some time to die and it would have been an agonising death.”
Diana Goundar was present during the killing and also travelled in Goundar’s car to dump Mr Singh’s body.
She has pleaded guilty to Mr Singh’s murder and has been sentenced to serve at least nine years jail for the killing.
“On any view, this was a ferocious and sustained attack,” Justice Kirby said of the killing.
“I have inferred an intention to kill. A number of wounds were inflicted in the bedroom. The deceased cried out: ‘I’m already dead. I’m already dead’. Still the attack occurred.”
The Fijian-born and raised Goundar will be eligible for parole in March 2015 at the earliest, taking into account time already served.
