Court raises sentence for Briton who tried to kill online contact

Yle reports that the Eastern Finland Court of Appeal has increased the prison sentence for a British man who travelled to Joensuu to kill a woman he had met online. Satinder Minhas, 32, was sentenced to six and a half years for attempted murder, aggravated endangerment of traffic safety and two attempted assaults.

The sentence is one year longer than the prison term imposed by the district court. The appeal court also increased the compensation Minhas must pay the victim.

The woman was walking home when Minhas approached her and tried to get her into his rental car, saying he had a knife. She escaped, and he then tried to run her over three times and chased her with a hammer.

Minhas had travelled from Britain to Finland five days before the crimes in January 2025. He had monitored the woman for days and found her address. They had never met in person. Minhas was infatuated with her, but she had told him she wanted to be friends and was in a relationship with someone else. He rejected her decision and wanted revenge, according to the court ruling.

Police seized a chainsaw, cable ties and rope with loops already made from the rental car Minhas used. The court said he had planned to kill the woman and obtained tools for the attack.

A psychiatric assessment found that Minhas had diminished criminal responsibility at the time of the offences, but understood the nature of his actions. The appeal court said the sentence would have been eight years without that mitigating factor. The ruling is not final and can be appealed to the Supreme Court.