Second Malik hit man gets life sentence as family asks who hired him

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — The two hit men who killed Ripudaman Singh Malik in Surrey, B.C., almost three years ago, have both now been sentenced to life in prison, but Malik’s son says the family’s journey will only end once those who hired the killers are also brought to justice.

Standing outside British Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster, B.C., Jaspreet Singh Malik told reporters they hadn’t received much information from police in “quite some time,” and they are urging the RCMP to continue investigating.

Jose Lopez received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 20 years on Friday.

An agreed statement of facts in the case said he and Tanner Fox were “hired and paid” to carry out the murder. But police and prosecutors have not revealed who they believe ordered the hit.

Fox was also handed a life sentence without parole for 20 years in January.

The hit men, who were both in their early 20s at the time of the killing in 2022, were originally charged with first-degree murder, but later admitted to second-degree murder.

Justice Terence Schultes told Friday’s hearing that mitigating factors in determining Lopez’s parole eligibility of 20 years included his young age at the time of the killing along with his guilty plea.

Lopez also has support from his mother and sisters, the judge noted.

Schultes said aggravating factors included the public nature of the killing, the degree of planning involved, which included disguises and “reconnaissance,” and the fact Malik was “defenceless” when he was murdered.

The judge also pointed to the motive of financial gain and Lopez’s criminal record, which includes assault convictions from 2019.

Schultes noted Lopez had assaulted Fox at an earlier hearing, calling it “a most regrettable event” that showed Lopez was at times still “acting according to impulses that take him outside the norms of civilized behaviour.”

But Schultes said the courtroom assault had not been put forward as an aggravating factor in Lopez’s sentencing and he would not treat it that way.

The sentences for both men were in line with joint recommendations from defence and Crown lawyers.

Defence lawyer Alice Vo told the hearing that Lopez was born in Manitoba and briefly lived in Texas before his family moved to B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

She said he frequently changed schools, repeatedly losing friends and starting over, which led to anxiety and conflict.

Lopez moved out of his family home when he was 15, but reconnected with his family when his father became ill and later died when Lopez was 17, Vo said.

She said Lopez is “sincerely remorseful” for his role in Malik’s killing.

Malik’s son, Jaspreet Singh Malik, said the family believes in “the best for everybody” according to their Sikh religion, including the men who shot his father.

“This is not about punishing Mr. Fox and Mr. Lopez. This is about wishing them well. They’re two young men who have fallen so far off the beaten path,” he said.

“No sentence will ever undo what happened,” he said.

Fox and Lopez shot Malik seven times, including six times in the head and neck, and photographic exhibits show Malik’s red Tesla with its windows shattered.

Sundeep Kaur Dhaliwal, the eldest daughter-in-law of Malik, gave a victim impact statement ahead of Lopez’s sentencing on Friday, telling him directly that he “allowed someone to hire you to take away my children’s grandfather.”

Crown lawyer Matthew Stacey told the hearing that Malik, a former suspect in the 1985 Air India bombings, was killed in a “public cold-blooded execution” with multiple shots fired in a public place, endangering bystanders in the community.

In 2005, Malik was acquitted in B.C. Supreme Court along with his co-accused, Ajaib Singh Bagri, of charges related to the bombings aimed at two Air India planes that killed 331 people in June 1985. It remains Canada’s worst terrorist attack.

One bomb blew up over the ocean off Ireland, killing all 329 on board, while the second device exploded at Narita airport in Japan, killing two baggage handlers.

A 2005 Canadian government report concluded the bombings were carried out by Sikh Khalistani separatists in Canada, including bomb maker Inderjit Singh Reyat, who was convicted of manslaughter.

Jaspreet Singh Malik has said his father’s legacy has been unfairly tarnished ever since.

His father’s killing has instilled fear in their family members, he said Friday.

“You’re walking the dog and there’s a car coming up the street, and you start to fear, who’s in the car?” he said. “No one should have to feel that.”

He also suggested that elements of the case extend into the political realm, saying whether the Indian government may have been involved is “a really good question for the RCMP.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2025.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press