The family of a student beaten to death in the street today condemned as a miscarriage of justice the sentences given to the gang who attacked him.
Thierry Christian-Gnanakumar, 22, was with a group of friends in Lewisham when they were chased by men armed with cricket bats, baseball bats, hockey sticks and iron bars. The slowest in running away, he was caught and beaten so savagely his skull was shattered and his brain left exposed.
At the Old Bailey, Kohulan Podiappuhamey, 24, was given a life sentence with a minimum 16-year term. Six other men were found guilty of violent disorder and jailed for three and a half years. Today his sister hit out at the sentences. The minimum term for murder is 15 years but guidelines state anyone carrying a knife “or other weapon” should get a minimum 25 years.
Dr Christine Christian-Gnanakumar said: “We are very disappointed. We don’t understand why Thierry’s killer was given 16. Is it any less evil to beat a person to death with a cricket bat than stab them with a knife? Killers who use a weapon of whatever type should get the same minimum. Life should mean life.” Mr Christian-Gnanakumar, of Catford, was studying biomedical science at University of East London.
Last month’s trial heard he had been drinking with friends in Lewisham High Street on November 10 last year when about 20 men drove up in three cars and carried out a “planned, co-ordinated attack”. Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC said: “Like a pack of animals they overwhelmed the slowest target and beat him repeatedly round the head.”
Dr Christian-Gnanakumar, an A&E doctor, told how the family visited her brother in hospital: “His swollen head was covered in bandages and his eye was horrifically swollen. My family and I begged Thierry to wake but there was no response at all. The consultant said he was very sorry but Thierry wasn’t going to survive and asked if they could turn off the life support.
“I wrestle to come to terms with how anyone could beat someone to death for no reason. I feel hatred for the men who killed my brother. He was a shy, gentle young man. It haunts me to think they were the last faces Thierry saw.”
She said police tried to use the joint enterprise law — which allows defendants to be convicted or murder even if they do not strike the fatal blows. But of eight men charged with murder, only Podiappuhamey, of Lee, was found guilty of it.
She added: “The police fought hard to get them convicted of murder, but to our shock and dismay only one was. The others got three and a half years and because they spent time on remand, and with time off for good behaviour, they will be out soon.” An eighth man was cleared of all charges.
Her brother was close to finishing his degree and hoped to work in a science lab. University of East London said his last assignment was completed to a very high standard — and next month it will present the family with his degree certificate. The Ministry of Justice said it did not comment on individual cases.
