The family of 21-year-old Sukhbir Pattowala say they are sickened by the three-year jail sentence given to his killer and warn he will strike again.

Manjit Sangha, a 31-year-old bodyguard, of Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, shot Sukhbir in the head at point blank range during a birthday party in a restaurant in Hounslow last October. He denied murder, saying Sukhbir, from Southall, was his friend and that he did not know the gun was loaded a version of events endorsed by Judge Gerald Gordon in his summing up.

But Sukhbir's brother Jasbir says this was not true and criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for its handling of the case.

"It's a pack of lies," he said. "We and the police told the CPS that Sukbhir and Sangha were not friends. My brother was slapped around twice in the past by Sangha. The barrister didn't mention it in court why not? And there is no proof that Sangha didn't know the gun was loaded, but the judge just accepted it."

Sangha punched the air on being jailed for three years imprisonment for reckless manslaughter this month at the Old Bailey.

Jasbir's wife Indy, 25, said that Sangha would be out of jail before the end of the year due to time already spent in custody.

"Hearing that they were friends rubs salt into an open wound. The police have told us Sangha will be out by December. He's getting away with it and will do it again."

July 17, 2002 12:30