Australia - Parwinder Kaur, 32, burned alive, Rouse Hill, NSW, 2 Dec 2013 *Arrest*

[h=1]Husband of Parwinder Kaur arrested over her death in a 'ball of fire' at their Rouse Hill home[/h]By police reporter Jessica Kidd and wires
Updated about 7 hours ago
PHOTO: Parwinder Kaur died after being set on fire near her Rouse Hill home in 2013. (Supplied)
MAP: Rouse Hill 2155
A Sydney man has been charged with murder over the death of his wife, who was set alight in a "ball of fire" at their Rouse Hill home in 2013.
On December 2, 2013, Parwinder Kaur, 32, ran screaming from her home.
She died two days later from burns to 90 per cent of her body.
Neighbours told a 2015 inquest they heard a "blood-curdling scream".
They emerged from their homes to see what one described as a "ball of fire".
The neighbours said the woman's husband, Kulwinder Singh, was seen running after her and patting her, as if to put out the flames.
The inquest was suspended by deputy state coroner Sharon Freund.
Police arrested 37-year-old Mr Singh on Wednesday morning at his Kellyville home.
PHOTO: Kulwinder Singh was arrested at his Kellyville home this morning. (ABC News: Jessica Kidd)
He was taken to the police station for questioning and has been charged with one count of murder.
"It's probably fair to say that he was surprised with the visit from police even though it's been quite some time between the death of Ms Kaur and our attendance today," Superintendent Rob Critchlow said.
"He exhibited some signs of distress and since that time he's now been dealt with by police and been provided with appropriate support while he assists us with our investigation."
Police said there were no third party witnesses to Ms Kaur being set on fire so they had relied on "specialist analysis of the evidence" to make an arrest.
"The process was very painstaking, it took a long time evidently because it was so complex," Superintendent Critchlow said.
He said Mr Singh was assisting with inquiries and would appear in Parramatta Court later today.
He said Ms Kaur's family had been contacted and "expressed an overwhelming sense of relief".
"They strongly felt that the death of Ms Kaur was a matter that required investigation and that someone may be responsible for it."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-01/husband-arrested-over-fire-death-of-wife/9106670

1 NOV 2017 - 5:03PM

'The past four years have been hell for us', says father of the man charged over Parwinder Kaur's death

Earlier in the day, SBS Punjabi spoke to Kulwinder's father, Sukhdev Singh, who claimed his son is innocent.
"I don't understand the laws here, but I can tell you this. My son has never been in a fight, he has never abused anyone, doesn't stay out late at nights, and he's very soft spoken."
"If you see his photo or meet him, even you will agree that he can't hurt anyone. Ask any of the people that he works with, any of our neighbours or our relatives in India. They will all say the same thing."
"My son can't even hurt an ant, let alone a human being. He is 100 per cent innocent."
"Beyond this, I just can't say anything. The lawyers will now take this up in court, " Mr Singh told SBS Punjabi.
SBS Punjabi is also trying to contact members of Kulwinder Kaur's family for comment.


http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2017/11/01/past-four-years-have-been-hell-us-says-father-man-charged-over-parwinder-kaurs

Well, my thoughts are with Parwinder.

And I'm not surprised the arrested husband is now being defended by his father. DV existing under a veil of denial and secretiveness.

:rose: Parwinder :rose:

2 NOV 2017 - 10:32 AM UPDATED 9 HOURS AGO

The husband of a Sydney woman who died after suffering 90 per cent burns to her body will face court charged with her murder.

37-year-old Kulwinder Singh was arrested on Wednesday morning and charged with the 2013 murder of Parwinder Kaur.

"It's probably fair to say that he was surprised with the visit from police even though it's been quite some time between the death of Ms Kaur and our attendance today," Superintendent Rob Critchlow told ABC News.

"He exhibited some signs of distress and since that time he's now been dealt with by police and been provided with appropriate support while he assists us with our investigation."

Singh spent the night behind bars after his lawyers postponed a bail application until Thursday,AAP reports.

AND .....

Singh is expected to appear at Parramatta Local Court via video link on Thursday afternoon.

http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/.../02/husband-parwinder-kaur-appear-court-today

Burning murder accused still behind bars

Tom RabeAAP / 4 hours ago

A Sydney man charged with murder after allegedly setting fire to his wife in 2013 will remain in custody without bail for at least two weeks.

Lawyers for Kulwinder Singh on Thursday delayed his bail application for a fortnight to obtain a medical report from the accused's physician who is overseas.

Police allege Singh doused his wife Parwinder Kaur in petrol before setting her on fire at their northwestern Sydney home in December 2013.

Ms Kaur, 32, suffered burns to 90 per cent of her body.

Neighbours told a 2015 inquest into Ms Kaur's death that Singh was seen running after his wife and patting her - as if to put out the flames.

The inquest heard the couple had spoken about divorce and argued about money on the afternoon Ms Kaur died.

Detectives have said forensic delays had hampered their investigation.

Singh is next expected to appear at Parramatta Local Court via video link with a Punjabi translator on November 16.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/37703276/husband-in-court-over-nsw-burning-murder/

Thinking of you, Parwinder, tonight.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/12/01/16/32/nsw-burning-murder-accused-granted-bail
NSW burning murder accused granted bail
6:44pm Dec 1, 2017

A man accused of dousing his wife in petrol and setting her alight almost four years ago has been granted bail after a NSW magistrate ruled that keeping him in custody would impede his ability to enter a plea and be tried.
Kulwinder Singh, 39, appeared with a Punjabi translator in Parramatta Local Court on Friday charged with the domestic violence-related murder of his wife, Parwinder Kaur, in December 2013.
Ms Kaur suffered "full thickness burns" to more than 90 per cent of her body at their Rouse Hill home along with inhalation burns, magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis said.
"The principal allegations underpinning the conduct attributed to the defendant is that these events occurred against the backdrop of a lengthy period of marital disharmony and generally speaking, a period of domestic violence," the magistrate said.
Neighbours told a 2015 inquest into Ms Kaur's death that Singh was seen running after his wife and patting her - as if to put out the flames.
Prosecutors had opposed bail in part due to the seriousness of the offence, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
"The Crown does still have concerns, given his significant ties to India in particular, that he may leave the jurisdiction," prosecutor Darren Robinson said on Friday.

But Singh's barrister, Frank Santisi, argued there was no evidence linking his client to the accelerant and Ms Kaur's fingerprints were found on the cigarette lighter and a jerrycan of petrol in the couple's laundry after her death.
"His conduct whilst the tragic situation was unfolding is quite consistent with him trying to assist the deceased rather than anything else," Mr Santisi said.
Mr Tsavdaridis granted Singh bail on "stringent" conditions including an $800,000 surety, that he wears a self-funded ankle bracelet, abides by a curfew and surrenders his Australian passport and certificate of registration as an Indian citizen.
The magistrate said the case "involves some 1400 pages of evidence thus far" and "there is likely to be a regrettable delay" in it being allocated a trial date in the NSW Supreme Court.
He accepted that Singh's fitness to plead and be tried, and his ability to give legal instruction, was "likely to be impeded by ongoing pre-trial incarceration".
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Gerald Chew has diagnosed Singh with a "major depressive episode" and found he was at a "very high risk of suicide" and feared for his life in jail.
"My opinion is all patients with this kind of major depressive episode should be managed in psychiatric hospitals outside of custody," Dr Chew told the court.
"He will receive sub-optimal treatment in a custodial environment."
The matter was adjourned until February 2.

[h=3]Unfortunately symbah, these practices are common in India & Pakistan.
Multiculturalism.

In India[edit][/h]

A Muslim organization -Karnataka Forum for Dignity's poster against Dowry system in Bangalore, India​

See also: Dowry system in India and Dowry law in India
Dr. Ashley K. Jutla, MD and David Heimbach describe bride burning by saying that "the husband and/or in-laws have determined that the dowry, a gift given from the daughter's parents to the husband, was inadequate and therefore attempt to murder the new bride to make the husband available to remarry or to punish the bride and her family."[SUP][11][/SUP] In India, dowry size is a reflection of wealth. The Indian author Rajesh Talwar has written a play on dowry deaths titled 'The Bride Who Would Not Burn.'[SUP][12][/SUP]
In 1961, the Government of India passed the Dowry Prohibition Act, making the dowry demands in wedding arrangements illegal.[SUP][13][/SUP]
In 1986, the Indian Parliament added dowry deaths as a new domestic violence crime. According to the new section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code, where a bride "within 7 years of her marriage is killed and it is shown that soon before her death, she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband, or any relative of her husband, or in connection with any demand for dowry, such death shall be called 'dowry death' and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death."[SUP][13][/SUP]
The offenders can be sentenced for any period, from a minimum of seven years in prison to a maximum of life.[SUP][14][/SUP] Many cases of dowry-related domestic violence, suicides, and murders have been reported. A 1997 report claimed that at least 5000 women die each year because of dowry deaths and at least a dozen die each day in 'kitchen fires' thought to be intentional.[SUP][15][/SUP] About 30 percent of reported dowry deaths result in convictions in courts.[SUP][8][/SUP]
[h=3]In Pakistan[edit][/h]In Pakistan, the Progressive Women's Association says that 300 women are burned to death each year by their husband's families and that bride burning incidents are sometimes disguised as accidents, such as an 'exploding stove'.[SUP][16][/SUP] According to the Association, doctors say that victims presenting from these accidents have injuries inconsistent with stove burns.[SUP][16][/SUP] According to an Amnesty International report in 1999, although 1600 bride burning incidents were reported, only 60 were prosecuted and, of those, only two resulted in convictions.[SUP][17][/SUP]
In Pakistan, women including Shahnaz Bukhari have been campaigning for protective legislation against the practice, for established women’s shelters and for hospitals with specialised burn wards.[SUP][18][/SUP] Amnesty International has said that pressure from within, as well as from international human rights groups, may be increasing the level of awareness within the Pakistani government.[SUP][19][/SUP] The BBC estimated that roughly 300 Pakistani brides were burnt to death in 1999.[SUP][20][/SUP]
In 1988, a survey showed that 800 women were killed in this manner; in 1989, the number rose to 1100, and in 1990 it stood at 1800 estimated killings. Newspapers in Lahore in a six-month period (1997) reported on average 15 attacks a month.[SUP][21][/SUP] According to an estimate by Human Development in South Asia, on average there are 16 cases of bride burnings a month.[SUP][22][/SUP] Women's eNews reported 4000 women attacked in this manner in Islamabad's surroundings over an eight-year period and that the average age range of victims is between 18 and 35 with an estimated 30 percent being pregnant at the time of death.[SUP][23][/SUP] Shahnaz Bukhari has said of such attacks
According to the Progressive Women's Association such attacks are a growing problem and in 1994 on International Women's Day announced that various NGOs would join to raise awareness of the issue.[SUP][24[/SUP]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bride_burning

"Bride-burning accounts for the death of at least one woman every hour in India".


http://www.smh.com.au/world/india-burning-brides-and-ancient-practice-is-on-the-rise-20150115-12r4j1.html

Do we Australians have to get used to this barbaric practice?

they'll get you said:

"Bride-burning accounts for the death of at least one woman every hour in India".


http://www.smh.com.au/world/india-burning-brides-and-ancient-practice-is-on-the-rise-20150115-12r4j1.html

Do we Australians have to get used to this barbaric practice?

Click to expand...

No. We don't, but we have plenty of women bashed to death. Same result, different method.

Written with reference to the 2015 inquest into Parwinder's death:

The initial investigation appears to have been bungled. Items that should have been bagged as evidence were not. A mobile phone was not dusted for fingerprints. A video of Sheba, a specially-trained golden labrador with a nose a million times more sensitive than a human’s, showed that the dog’s “pointing” at places where it scented accelerant had not been noticed by its handler.

When these holes in the case came to light an enormous amount of forensic work by the police and Fire and Rescue NSW – who staged the reenactment, using mannequins and a stuntwoman – went into the investigation. Not all of it implicated Kulwinder in his wife’s death.

The court was shown photographs of the can of lawnmower fuel and a lighter found in the laundry of the house where the fire was started. Mr Singh’s lawyer, Michael Vassili, made much of the fact that both had Parwinder’s fingerprints or DNA on them – and neither had Kulwinder’s. No trace of accelerant was found on him either.

Experts were paraded through the witness box, most interestingly Professor Peter Maitz, one of Australia’s leading experts on burns and the medical director of Concord Hospital’s burns unit since 2000. Professor Maitz has also spent time with the National Academy of Burn Injuries in India.

Death by burning, he testified, is unusual anywhere because: “It is not easy to burn a person. We are 70 per cent water.”

In Australia and other English-speaking countries, it was much more common for people to commit suicide using drugs – of the 223 cases of self-harm or suicide using fire in NSW in the past 11 years “fewer than a dozen” died of their injuries, he said.

In India, however, the use of fire for so-called “honour killings” was far more common. In some cases the woman was killed by her relatives for dishonouring the family name; in others, the woman killed herself. However, in cases of suicide it was more common for the victim to pour the fuel over her head before setting herself alight – Parwinder’s head was one of the few parts of her body not to be incinerated.

Professor Maitz also said that he had examined photographs of Kulwinder’s hands. The burns were not serious, he said, and not consistent with him having tried effectively to extinguish the flames engulfing his wife, since they were on his fingers, rather than the palms of his hands.

It was appropriate, said Mr Strickland, that his summing up of the case should be on Wednesday November 25, White Ribbon Day, when men and boys around the world pin loops of white ribbon to their chests to show their support for a campaign to end male violence against women and girls.

The barrister seemed in no doubt what had happened to Parwinder: “Her death occurred in the context of an abusive relationship”. Parwinder, he said, was a “very tough cookie” who had put up with abuse for years and would not have killed herself.

For more of this in depth article : https://www.sbs.com.au/news/feature/please-cover-my-body

March 2021: Husband found not guilty.
Verdict in burned woman murder trial
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...-by-lighting-her-on-fire-20210330-p57f8g.html