Drug dealer jailed for murder of Sikh man in Southampton

A drug dealer has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the "brutal and sustained assault" of a Sikh man in Southampton, in September last year.

Adam Abdallah was found guilty of stabbing Kirpal Singh Sanghera in the chest, neck and arms and jailed for life at Winchester Crown Court yesterday.

Justice Dingemans told the 43-year-old man that he must serve at least 23 years for the "brutal and sustained assault" before being considered for parole.

The court was told that 39-year-old Sanghera and his attacker were involved in the supply of Class A hard drugs and that the killing was the result of a "turf war".

Sanghera was discovered with knife wounds on the street and declared dead at Southampton General Hospital in the early hours of September 19, 2017. During the hearing, the court was shown CCTV footage of the fatal attack, which showed Abdallah stabbing his victim at least seven times.

The court heard that Abdallah told a witness who tried to intervene: "Just let me kill him... I've got to do this."

After sentencing, Abdallah shouted from the dock: "I'm the victim, he attacked me, I have the right to defend myself," before being dragged away.

The court heard that he committed the murder while out of prison on licence, or parole, for a previous drugs offence.

The victim's father, Gurdev Singh Sanghera, told the court: "My son was everything to me, my life has changed forever.

"I would do anything just to see my son and give him a hug."

His mother, Jit Kaur Sanghera, added: "I will never again get a chance to see my son. My son's killer and his family will still get that chance."

The court also heard a statement from the victims former partner and the mother of his two sons aged three and seven, Kirsty Hopkinson, who said that the children were scared to fall asleep and missed their father.