A Toronto father who ran down his own daughter, her boyfriend and his son-in-law with his minivan received a five-year sentence Tuesday.
Selvanayagam Selladurai, 47, will end up serving four years when one allows for the five-and-a-half months he has already spent in custody for what the Crown described as an attempted honour killing.
Selladurai's family members were crying in court when the judge sentenced him. Court was told they fully supported Selladurai.
They didn't wish to speak to the media after sentence was passed.
The incident took place in June 2007 after Selladurai's teenaged daughter Anitha had been missing from home for three days.
He struck Anitha and the two others with the van. The girl was dragged under the van for about five metres, with the vehicle only coming to rest when it struck a fence.
This took place across the street from Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Ont.
Anitha suffered serious head injuries but has since recovered. The son-in-law suffered a broken pelvis, while the boyfriend got away with a sprained ankle.
Police originally charged Selladurai with attempted murder, but he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.
Justice John McMahon of Ontario Superior Court said it was lucky no one died.
Cultural differences can never be used an excuse for committing crimes in Canada, he said.
Selladurai emigrated to Canada in 1994 from Sri Lanka.
With a report from CTV Toronto's John Musselman
