According to a close relative of one of his 11 victims, Gary Jagur Singh, also known as the “Marpole Rapist”, wasreleased on day parole to a halfway house in Surrey as of Thursday, Jan. 9. But it looks like Surrey Mayor Doug “Paaji” McCallum has found another excuse to target the Surrey RCMP. McCallum’s hate-hate relationship with the Surrey RCMP is leading him to blame the force for even though the RCMP has no control over the situation.

SURREY – It looks like Surrey Mayor Doug “Paaji” McCallum hasn’t lost his hate-hate relationship with the Surrey RCMP, again blaming the force for what it has no control over.

This week, relative of a victim of a man dubbed the “Marpole Rapist” Gary Jagur Singh told the media that the dangerous offender was released on day parole in Surrey on Thursday.

On Friday, McCallum shot out a press release that said: “The news that Gary Jagur Singh (Marpole Rapist) will be released on day parole in our city is not only disturbing but infuriating to the people of Surrey. The Parole Board of Canada acknowledges that Singh’s sexual deviancy can never be cured. In a previous day parole Singh breached his conditions and he has been denied full parole now, which makes his release to a halfway house in Surrey all the more irresponsible and troubling.”

So far so good but McCallum went on to add that “Singh is a designated dangerous offender and I am frustrated by the lack of information coming from the RCMP. For the safety of the people of Surrey, I believe that our residents need to be told where this prolific sexual predator is residing in Surrey. That information should be made available immediately.”

This didn’t sit well with Assistant RCMP Commissioner Brian Edwards, who put out his own statement: “I acknowledge the frustration expressed by Mayor McCallum in the news release he issued today (January 10, 2020) regarding the release of a dangerous offender into Surrey. While the Surrey RCMP share many of these concerns, it is important to recognize there is a significant process in place by the Parole Board of Canada to determine if and when an offender can be released into the community and the conditions they are put under.”

This isn’t the first time McCallum has been called out for unnecessarily blaming the RCMP for Surrey’s crime as the Mayor has made a regular spectacle of blaming the national force for everything, but still having trouble throwing them out as most Surrey residents want to keep the RCMP.

 “When the Surrey RCMP were notified of this individual’s release into Surrey, we conducted our own assessment that included the fulsome decision made by Parole Board of Canada. Unfortunately, the threshold for a Public Interest Disclosure was not met in this situation for a variety of reasons including whether the individual posed an imminent threat, the recommended conditions, and the strong release plan approved by the Parole Board. However, we are aware of the significant conditions in place for this individual, including electronic monitoring, and we will be monitoring this individual, along with Correctional Service Canada,” Edwards said In a press release.

“I personally advised Mayor McCallum of the situation on two separate occasions and provided him the information that could legally be provided to him regarding this situation. While I acknowledge that the limited information that the police are able to provide in these cases can cause frustration, we have a legal obligation to balance the privacy of individuals and the risk to public safety. Police can only breach that privacy under the strictest of circumstances and, in this situation, that threshold was not reached.  

“I share the public’s concern on this matter. I can assure the residents of Surrey that the correct processes were followed in this situation, and that we have a team specifically assigned to monitoring these type of offenders to ensure they do not breach their conditions or impact public safety in any manner.”

And there you have it – the mayor got schooled by the RCMP for not even knowing the basics of the parole system and privacy under the system which the police have nothing to do with. 

Parole Board of Canada document reveal Singh, 64 has been granted day parole but denied full parole. He is serving an indeterminate sentence for four counts of sexual assault with a weapon, eight counts of break and enter with intent, three counts of robbery and seven counts of sexual assault. On June 10, 1994 he was designated a dangerous offender, reported the Surrey-Now Leader newspaper.

 “The Board notes that experts in your case have advised that your sexual deviancy can never be cured, but it can be managed,” the document states.

Singh had, between January 1988 and August 1991 “sexually offended against” 11 victims who were strangers to him. Three were forcefully taken off the street and assaulted in darker, secluded areas while the other eight were attacked in their apartments, where they had been sleeping when he broke in.

“You woke your victims up and threatened them, and on some occasions, their children as well,” the document states. “At times, you held a knife to the victims’ throats or threatened violence against them or their children.”

The relative, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, told the Now-Leader that Victims Services informed her Singh will be released into Surrey.

But confirming that is another matter.

The Parole Board document says Singh must return to a “residential facility nightly” and is subject to 11 conditions including not to consume, purchase or possess alcohol, to report his relationships, not own or operate a motor vehicle, to not be in the company of sex trade workers, to not be in areas where sex trade workers are known to frequent, to abide by a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, to follow psychological counselling, to not enter drinking establishments or strip clubs, to avoid victims and not visit Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands, to have no contact with his sister, and to have “no direct or indirect contact with the victims or any members of the victims’ families.”

Singh was granted day parole once, in 2006, the Parole Board document notes, but that was revoked in January 2008.

“He breached parole by approaching a sex trade worker, and asking her to perform certain acts,” the victim’s relative said.

She noted Singh had been at a halfway house in Vancouver’s downtown eastside, a “stupid place to put sex offenders.”

A psychological assessment in 2019 indicates Singh is a “moderate-low risk for sexual violence” and the Parole Board document notes Singh has participated in escorted temporary absences for “family contact, faith services and community service without incident,” reported Surrey Now-Leader.