A teenage boy who killed 80-year-old Bhim Kohli in a brutal park attack will not have his seven-year sentence changed after the Court of Appeal ruled it was neither “unduly lenient nor manifestly excessive” in a decision that has left the victim’s family disappointed.
The 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of manslaughter after punching, kicking and slapping Mr Kohli with a shoe in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town, near Leicester, on 1 September last year. The pensioner, who was racially abused during the attack, died in hospital the following day from a broken neck and fractured ribs.
Lady Justice Macur, sitting alongside Mrs Justice Cutts and Mr Justice Murray at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, dismissed both the Solicitor General’s bid to increase the sentence and the teenager’s attempt to have it reduced. She praised the original sentencing judge’s handling of the case, stating: “We consider that the judge conscientiously executed the necessary sentencing exercise and conveyed his remarks to offender and co-defendant with great skill.”
The court heard that a balaclava-clad boy had attacked Mr Kohli whilst a 13-year-old girl filmed the assault and laughed. Video clips recovered from her phone showed the boy hitting the elderly man with his slider shoe, with another clip showing Mr Kohli lying motionless on the ground. The girl, who had photographed Mr Kohli a week before the attack, was spared jail and instead given a three-year youth rehabilitation order.
Paul Jarvis KC, representing Solicitor General Lucy Rigby, argued that whilst the sentencing judge had not identified a high risk of death, he had acknowledged a high risk of “very serious harm.” However, the boy’s barrister, Balraj Bhatia KC, contended that Mr Kohli’s frailty meant “little or no force was required” to kill him, stating: “Sadly, the vulnerability of the deceased’s neck was such that had he spent a day on his beloved allotment and fallen accidentally, the result would have been the same.”
Lady Justice Macur firmly rejected this argument and the attempt to reduce the sentence, declaring: “The sentence was a very significant sentence and necessarily so. It is entirely warranted by the seriousness of the offence. It is unarguable that the sentence was manifestly excessive.”
The attack occurred when Mr Kohli was walking his dog Rocky near his home. His children found him lying on the ground in agony, with the pensioner telling his daughter Susan that he had been called a “P***” during the assault. He was initially taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary before being transferred to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he died from his injuries.
During the original trial at Leicester Crown Court, jurors heard that the boy claimed he had a “tussle” with Mr Kohli over his slider shoe before slapping him “out of instinct,” causing the pensioner to fall to his knees. However, he denied kicking or punching the victim. The court also heard evidence of a previous incident where the girl had filmed a group of children “confronting” an unknown man who was hit to the back of the head and called a “P*** bastard” whilst she laughed.
In a letter written from his residential unit, the boy expressed remorse, writing: “I f****** hate what I did. I regret it so much. I have flashbacks of that day and it just upsets me. I kinda just needed anger etc releasing.”
Mr Justice Turner, who presided over the original sentencing in June, had described the attack as “wicked” and told the teenagers that Mr Kohli “did nothing to deserve” what happened to him. He found that the boy had decided in advance to be “hostile” towards Mr Kohli, which was why he put on his balaclava before approaching him.
The judge said the racial abuse was “a lazy but very hurtful insult” and noted that using the slider shoe as a weapon was “more humiliating than dangerous,” with the boy “playing up to” the girl’s video recording. He added: “What you did was not one single attack which you immediately regretted, but two separate violent outbursts.”
Addressing Mr Kohli’s family at the conclusion of Wednesday’s hearing, Lady Justice Macur expressed genuine condolences: “We wish to express genuine condolences to the family of Mr Kohli who have experienced such a devastating loss. The photographs which have appeared in the press accurately reflect what was obviously a sunny disposition and genuine enjoyment of life, his family, and all of that which he did. It is a loss that will be hard to bear.”
Mr Kohli’s daughter Susan said she was “disappointed” that the sentence would remain unchanged. She had previously criticised the original sentencing as too lenient, stating outside Leicester Crown Court in June: “I feel angry and disappointed that the sentence… does not, I believe, reflect the severity of the crime they committed.
The case had attracted significant political attention, with Mid Leicestershire MP Peter Bedford and South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa writing to the Attorney General’s Office requesting a review of the sentences. Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC had argued during the original sentencing that there was “deliberate humiliation” of Mr Kohli and that the boy had a “leading role” in the attack, encouraged by the girl’s filming.
Solicitor General Lucy Rigby, who had referred the case to the Court of Appeal, said in a statement: “Bhim Kohli suffered an entirely unprovoked attack while walking his dog in his local park, the nature of which shocked the country. It was understandable that I received several requests under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to consider his sentence.”
She added: “Following careful consideration, I concluded that the male offender’s sentence should be referred to the Court of Appeal as it appeared unduly lenient. I respect the Court of Appeal’s decision. My thoughts today are with Mr Kohli’s friends and family, and everyone impacted by this horrendous crime.”
The case has highlighted ongoing concerns about youth violence and racial abuse, with the court hearing that evidence from the teenagers’ mobile phones did not show they held “general racist views,” despite the racial slur used during the attack. The boy remains in custody serving his seven-year sentence, whilst the girl continues her youth rehabilitation order in the community.
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