Manjit Panghali's daughter awarded more than $600K in damages
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has awarded more than $600,000 to the daughter of murdered Surrey teacher Manjit Panghali.
Panghali was killed by her husband Mukhtiar in 2006. The burned remains of the 31-year-old, who was four months pregnant, were found on a beach in Delta five days after she was reported missing. He's now serving a sentence of life without parole for 15 years after being convicted of second degree murder.
The lawsuit was initiated by his 10-year-old daughter's guardians.
In reaching his decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Punnett was forced to imagine a world where Manjit Panghali was not murdered — where the pregnant school teacher, instead, took maternity leave before returning to work as an elementary school teacher, and then watched as her bright, thriving daughter Maya went on to study at university.
These were some of the criteria Punnett used to calculate losses, past and present, for financial support and childcare — an amount he finally set at more than $600,000.
Factored into the calculations was an assumption that had the crime not happened, Mukhtiar the father, would have continued working as a high school teacher.
Maya Panghali is now being raised by her aunt, Manjit's sister.
Although the court has made the award, collecting the money is another matter.
The killer's family is fighting for parts of the estate.
