Twelve years for racist slaying of cabbie

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/05/2023 (943 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A mentally ill man convicted in the racist slaying of a Winnipeg cab driver has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years.

Okoth Obeing, 23, was convicted after trial of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 44-year-old Balvir Toor in March 2020.

“The killing was senseless, vicious, and brutal,” King’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey said in a 27-page written decision released Friday.

Court heard evidence Obeing had a hatred of people of South Asian descent and a dislike of taxi drivers who “disrespected” him by asking for payment upfront.

Obeing has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was experiencing symptoms of the illness at the time of the killing, McKelvey said.

His illness, however, was not so severe that it rendered him not criminally responsible for his actions.

“His anger was well demonstrated, along with the racism that served to precipitate the attack on Toor,” McKelvey said. “Toor was a vulnerable victim, doing his job, in public, on the streets of Winnipeg.”

Toor was stabbed to death in his cab as he pulled over on the 500 block of Burrows Avenue.

Video of the attack, which was recorded by a cab security camera, showed Obeing in the rear driver-side seat engaged in an angry verbal exchange with Toor.

“Shut the f—k up before I kill you,” Obeing told Toor, before seemingly calming down and telling him to “Just drive, bro.”

Seconds later, Obeing slid over to the rear passenger-side seat, reached around the driver’s protective shield and stabbed Toor 17 times in the arm and upper body, repeatedly saying: “You f——-g piss me off,” before running away.

In a subsequent police interview, Obeing claimed he gave Toor $60 up front for the fare and became angry when Toor wouldn’t give him back $10.

“I had enough,” he said. “That was my last $60.

“It was money first, money first. I didn’t even f—king give him the address yet.”

McKelvey said Obeing showed “complete callousness” for the killing, telling police: “Who cares?”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Biidaajimowin | News from the Centre

Wednesdays

Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences.

Sign up for Biidaajimowin | News from the Centre

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Prosecutors had recommended McKelvey impose a 15-year period of parole ineligibility, while the defence urged her not to raise it above the minimum 10-year period of ineligibility.

McKelvey said while Obeing’s mental illness reduced his moral culpability, the viciousness of the attack and his lack of remorse demanded an increase in the period of parole ineligibility from the 10-year minimum.

McKelvey said Obeing should make every effort to access psychiatric and psychological treatment in prison.

“Treatment stands as the best option towards enabling parole in the future,” she said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca

Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter

Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.

Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.