Angry confrontations, an assault and demands of money finally caught up with an insurance agent who has had his license suspended by the Insurance Council of British Columbia.
Preetpal Sangha, who had been licensed as a Level 1 general insurance salesman since 2008, was discovered by the ICBC to have pleaded guilty to uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and to have been sentenced to four months in jail followed by 18 months of probation.
Sangha came under the ICBC microscope when contrary to section 7(3) of Council Rules, the Licensee failed to notify Council within five business days when he was charged under the Criminal Code of Canada in 2011, and failed to notify Council again in 2013 when he pleaded guilty to uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm.
Sangha’s co-accused, who is only identified as Mr. Adiwal, pleaded guilty to assault. Both pleas came from May 9, 2011 incident.
It all stems from a dispute between Sangha and an associate of the Sangha's father (identified as the ‘Complainant’ in court documents) who, along with the Sangha's father and others, owned a lumber mill where Sangha worked.
Although the origins of the dispute are unclear, the court found that on or about April 1, 2011, there were several angry confrontations between Sangha and the Complainant. This developed into demands by Sangha that the Complainant pay certain sums of money.
According to court documents, the Complainant contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who began an undercover investigation.
On May 9, 2011, Sangha arranged for Adiwal and several others to accompany him to the mill. According to court documents, Adiwal is a person who was known to have a history of gang involvement with other Indo-Canadian youth in South Vancouver. (continued.)
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The confrontation at the mill consisted of Sangha accosting his father’s friend, the Complainant, with Adiwal, and the others joining in. According to court testimony, the Complainant was threatened with being shot, and Adiwal slapped him and asked the Complainant if he “knew who Adiwal was.”
The court found the actual assault was “more intended to humiliate the Complainant in the sight of the mill workers” than to cause bodily harm.
The attackers left after more talk of the Complainant paying money to the Sangha.
Mr. Justice Grist held that both accused had good prospects of rehabilitation and noted Sangha was a first offender with positive references from the community. The court found that a jail sentence of four months was appropriate for both accused.
Following this sentencing decision and his initial incarceration, Sangha filed an appeal of his criminal sentence and was released from custody on May 23, pending the hearing of the appeal, which is scheduled for September 25.
The conviction itself is not under appeal.
As for the ruling from the ICBC regarding Sangha’s suitability, Sangha has acknowledged that he made a serious mistake for which he is remorseful. He has maintained regular employment since and has the support of his employer and many references in his community.
Sangha also told the ICBC that he no longer associates with the individuals, including Adiwal, from the May 2011 incident, and that he “did not disclose the charges and conviction in the required timeframes because he was not aware of the requirements of Rule 7(3), and was focused on dealing with the criminal charges against him.”
Although the committee found Sangha to be truly remorseful, it did suspend his general insurance licence for six months effective May 14.
