An illegal immigrant who claimed to be a teenager when he attacked a Wickes worker with a spirit level during a robbery has been jailed for nearly five years.
Karandeep Singh, who had no legal status in Britain, was sentenced this week at Reading Crown Court after assaulting a staff member at the hardware store in Slough in May last year.
Judge Sarah Jane Campbell questioned Singh's claims about his age after he told the court he was just 18 at the time of the violent attack - which left the worker with a head wound requiring hospital treatment.
The incident occurred when Singh and his accomplice, Satwant Singh, 34, were spotted acting suspiciously at the Wickes store on Farnham Road.
Staff member Morgan Duffy confronted Satwant Singh after he attempted to steal a spirit level from the shop.
Though he initially claimed he would pay for the item, he then proceeded to walk out without doing so.
When Duffy tried to retrieve the spirit level, Satwant Singh dragged him outside the store.
It was then that Karandeep Singh struck Duffy in the head with the spirit level, leaving a 9cm wound which required treatment at A&E.
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Karandeep Singh and his accomplice Satwant Singh were spotted acting suspiciously at the Wickes store on Farnham Road, Slough
The judge noted Karandeep Singh had three different birth dates listed on the Police National Computer, with one suggesting he was five years older than claimed.
"He looks to me a little bit older than 19, I have to say," Judge Campbell told his defence lawyer.
Defence barrister, Tobias Smith, maintained that Karandeep Singh's claimed birth year of 2005 was right, telling the court: "The date of birth will have come from somewhere, some sort of document.
"Some people physically mature at different rates."
Karandeep Singh had arrived in the UK just four months before the incident, having travelled from Punjab, India.
The pair were sentenced at Reading Crown Court this week
PA
Alongside his lack of legal status, the court heard how he had been homeless throughout his time in Britain until being placed in a bail hostel.
Karandeep Singh claimed he had made the journey hoping to build a better life and bring over his wife and five-year-old child.
"He found himself having travelled without any support from his family," his defence barrister told the court.
Karandeep Singh failed to appear for his trial on October 1 and was convicted in his absence, which the judge called "a deliberate attempt to evade justice".
After being arrested on warrant, he denied being the same Karandeep Singh from the Wickes incident, but was proven wrong by fingerprint evidence.
Karandeep Singh was convicted of robbery and grievous bodily harm, receiving a sentence of four years, eight months and 14 days in prison.
His accomplice, Satwant Singh, was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to three years and eight months imprisonment.
