GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER


KILLER OF WOLVERHAMPTON PH DRIVER, ANAKH SINGH, FOUND GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER


The passenger who killed a private hire driver after a fight over a fare has been found guilty of man- slaughter. A jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court found Tomasz Margol, 36, not guilty of murder, which sparked emotional scenes in the public gallery from Anakh Singh’s family. Margol punched and headbutted Mr Singh during a street fight between the two on Sunday, October 30, and the 59-year-old father of two, who suffered from heart disease, died shortly after. Mr Singh and Margol had been arguing over a £5.80 fare, which Margol believed had been paid online but had not shown up on the private hire driver’s system, when he arrived at the Nine Elms Road property in Park Village. The jury found Margol guilty of manslaughter after four hours and 55 minutes of deliberation. The majority guilty


verdict for


manslaughter was 11-1. After the verdict the court was told Margol had previous convictions for robbery and assaulting a police officer in his homeland Poland in 2016 and assaulting a police officer in Wolverhampton in 2021. During the two-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court the jury was shown CCTV footage of the fight which led to the death of Mr Singh. There was a massive outpouring of grief after Mr Singh died with more


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than £11,000 being raised for his family after ABC Cars set up a GoFundMe page. When he was arrested, he made a significant comment, telling officers: “Its about what happened today... about the beating.” Mr Singh’s family paid tribute, saying: “Anakh Singh was a loving husband, father and a well- respected member of the community. This loss has left us heartbroken and has forever changed our lives. We miss him dearly. “We would also like to thank everyone who has supported us during this tough time.” DI Michelle Thurgood, from our Force CID, said: “This was a senseless and tragic act of violence. Mr Singh was a law-abiding man of good character who was simply trying to do his job. “Our thoughts remain with Mr Singh’s family at this difficult time.” Judge Michael Chambers KC told Margol: “You have been found guilty of manslaughter. You will be kept in custody until your sentencing.” Margol, of Merridale, Wolver- hampton, will be sentenced on Tuesday, July 11. Following on from the trial, ABC Cars has denied its system was to blame for the mix-up which sparked the fatal argument. Director of the company, Greg Caley,


was furious when


Wolverhampton Crown Court was told Tomasz Margol’s £5.80 fare had been paid before he entered Mr Singh’s vehicle. A second private hire vehicle had been booked for the same job by


the woman whose house Margol was leaving and that was the car that was pre-paid. Mr Caley has revealed the PHV’s booking system logged Mr Singh’s job as a “cash fare” and he has screenshots from the booking system to prove his point. He said: “It was stated the fare had been paid online but had not shown up on the driver’s system. “This is incorrect. The booking was always cash.”


He added: “Only when Mr Singh arrived at the pick-up a second taxi was booked at 10.18am which was pre-paid. The second vehicle arrived and shortly after no-fared the booking.” “Both cars were booked by another app user present. To pass blame on a system error is untrue, the person booking the taxi absolutely booked cash payment on the app.” Mr Singh was a popular driver within ABC Cars and known for being hard working and regularly taking extra shifts. Mr Caley added: “My deepest sympathies are with his family. May Anakh Singh rest in peace.” PHTM sends our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Singh.


JULY 2023 PHTM


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