A person walks past an LCBO in Ottawa on March 19, 2020. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
An Ontario judge has rejected a jointly proposed 90-day jail sentence for a repeat LCBO thief and instead sentenced him to one year, saying he doubts the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will deport the offender despite a removal order in place for nearly four years.
The Crown and defence had jointly proposed the shorter sentence on the expectation that 30-year-old Manjeet Singh would be deported after serving his jail term. Judge Michael Wendl of Hamilton, Ont., rejected the proposal, saying Singh has remained in Canada without legal status since 2016 despite mutiple arrests, jail terms, and a federal deportation order.
Singh was jailed for roughly 45 days in 2024 and for more than five months in 2025 on charges including robbery and theft over $5,000, Wendl noted.
“Ultimately, I have no confidence that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will actually deport Mr. Singh,” the judge wrote in his recently published decision, which was originally issued on June 23.
“Put bluntly, a deportation order has been in place for nearly four years. During that time, he has been in custody on serious criminal charges —under which CBSA could have readily located and removed him— yet no action has been taken.”
The CBSA was not available for comment before publication time.
History of Theft
Singh came to Canada 10 years ago on a student visa to study culinary arts but fell into drug addiction during the pandemic, the court document said. He has a criminal history dating back to 2021 and a removal order was issued for him on Oct. 27, 2022.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of theft under $5,000 from the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) and one count of breaching probation by entering the store.
Singh and two others walked into an LCBO in Hamilton on June 3, 2025, loaded a cart with 14 bottles of whisky, and left without paying, the court said. They repeated this act at a second LCBO in the city nearly 90 minutes later, stealing 25 bottles of vodka and whisky. The value of the stolen items totaled $3,268.30. None of it was recovered.
Singh has pleaded guilty to similar thefts from LCBOs and Home Depots in other locations and was already serving an eight-month sentence when Wendl imposed the 12-month sentence.
Judges generally approve joint sentencing agreements unless such a sentence would tarnish the reputation of the justice system. Wendl said that the proposed 90-day sentence crossed that line.
“Since nothing redeems this unhinged sentence and no greater good is served by acceding to it, I find it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” he wrote.
“The message needs to be clear: organized and systematic theft targeting of the LCBO will be severely sanctioned,” he added.
