A Toronto serial rapist who is suspected of assaulting up to 1,000 women and girls will be deported to Malaysia now that his 24-year prison sentence is complete.
Selva Kumar Subbiah, 56, was ordered held in custody Monday until the weekend, when he will be accompanied back to his home country by three guards from the Canada Border Services Agency.
“You are the worst offender and the highest risk that has ever come before me in my career,” said Andrew Laut, who chaired the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada hearing.
Subbiah was convicted at two separate trials of drugging and sexually assaulting 30 women, but Monday’s hearing was told that he’s believed to have victimized hundreds more.
“As many as 500 to 1,000 could have been attacked,” said Naima Karimullah, a lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency.
One of Subbiah’s victims told Torstar News Service that she’s still struggling to cope with the attack on her in the mid-1980s.
“It’s painful,” the woman said. “It’s not easy to go through. But it’s important to talk, to move forward…to know that you’re not the only one.”
Subbiah, a short, soft-spoken man with a slight British accent, said he’s prepared to return to Malaysia, where he has not lived since 1980.
“I’m ready to leave, sir,” he told Laut at Monday’s hearing.
Malaysian officials have already approved a flight permit for him, the hearing was told.
There was no mention of whether he would walk free in Malaysia or be turned over to law enforcement officials there.
Subbiah was arrested on Jan. 29 when he became eligible for mandatory release after serving his entire prison sentence.
Prison staff had warned there’s a high risk he’ll reoffend or even kill.
Laut noted that he was declared a “danger to the public” in November 1994, meaning he couldn’t apply for refugee status.
Subbiah had previously argued that he would be the victim of discrimination in Malaysia because he is Jewish.
At a hearing in June 2016, he was found ineligible for parole because he was considered “likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person.”
Subbiah, who waived the right to have a lawyer represent him, fought unsuccessfully Monday to block the Star from reporting details of his hearing or from photographing him via a video hookup. He said it would be dangerous for him to have his photograph and details of his hearing published.
“It has already been reported on broadly in media articles and on the Internet,” Subbiah said.
The Star argued that it was important for his victims to know details of his case and what he looks like now.
One victim who spoke to the Star said it’s important for the public to see Subbiah’s face now.
“I believe the Malaysia public should be fully aware,” she said. “Every border should have his picture.”
Another said she hopes she can finally relax when Subbiah has finally been deported.
“It’s still sort of a presence,” she said. “Maybe the day after he’s finally gone, I’ll maybe celebrate with a glass of wine.”
Subbiah arrived in Canada in 1980 but never obtained permanent resident status. He was granted student and visitor’s visas, and claimed to have studied divinity at McMaster University and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, but did not graduate from any post-secondary course.
He married two women, one of whom fled the country to escape abuse, the hearing heard.
In 1992, he was convicted at the first of two trials that would ultimately see him sentenced to 24 years in prison for 19 counts of sexual assault, 28 counts of administering a drug or noxious substance, 10 counts of various kinds of assault and a dozen other charges, including extortion.
At the time of his sentencing, Justice David Humphrey ordered police to accompany Subbiah back to his native Malaysia and give police there his extensive criminal file when his prison term was complete.
His criminal file sat before him on Monday and appeared to be more than a foot high.
When he was denied parole in 2016, Subbiah was told “you continue to struggle in the areas of victim empathy, remorse and your inability to take full responsibility for your personal choices which results in your lack of mitigation in risk.”
He made no comment at that hearing.
Subbiah committed several of his crimes while posing as a model agent or movie talent scout, often using the names Richard Wild and Ryan Hunter. Occasionally, he also posed as a professional dancer, a lawyer or a diplomat. He also lured women to the basement of his home on Macdonnell Ave. through ads offering to sell exotic pets.
He would offer them a drink laced with drugs, then rape them and take photos of their naked bodies while they were unconscious.
One victim who spoke with The Star said he was polished when he attacked her, some 33 years ago.
“I remember him being smooth, well-practiced,” she said. “He was practiced already, in ’84 or ’85.”
His trial heard that he was carrying a black book containing the names of 170 women, rated on a scale of 0 to 10, when police arrested him on Aug. 7, 1991.
Subbiah was in the news again in 1998, when police told the Star he was using a string of aliases from behind bars and a female accomplice on the outside to con women to send him nude photos and gifts.
Selva Kumar Subbiah, 56, was ordered held in custody Monday until the weekend, when he will be accompanied back to his home country by three guards from the Canada Border Services Agency.
“You are the worst offender and the highest risk that has ever come before me in my career,” said Andrew Laut, who chaired the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada hearing.
Subbiah was convicted at two separate trials of drugging and sexually assaulting 30 women, but Monday’s hearing was told that he’s believed to have victimized hundreds more.
“As many as 500 to 1,000 could have been attacked,” said Naima Karimullah, a lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency.
One of Subbiah’s victims told Torstar News Service that she’s still struggling to cope with the attack on her in the mid-1980s.
“It’s painful,” the woman said. “It’s not easy to go through. But it’s important to talk, to move forward…to know that you’re not the only one.”
Subbiah, a short, soft-spoken man with a slight British accent, said he’s prepared to return to Malaysia, where he has not lived since 1980.
“I’m ready to leave, sir,” he told Laut at Monday’s hearing.
Malaysian officials have already approved a flight permit for him, the hearing was told.
There was no mention of whether he would walk free in Malaysia or be turned over to law enforcement officials there.
Subbiah was arrested on Jan. 29 when he became eligible for mandatory release after serving his entire prison sentence.
Prison staff had warned there’s a high risk he’ll reoffend or even kill.
Laut noted that he was declared a “danger to the public” in November 1994, meaning he couldn’t apply for refugee status.
Subbiah had previously argued that he would be the victim of discrimination in Malaysia because he is Jewish.
At a hearing in June 2016, he was found ineligible for parole because he was considered “likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person.”
Subbiah, who waived the right to have a lawyer represent him, fought unsuccessfully Monday to block the Star from reporting details of his hearing or from photographing him via a video hookup. He said it would be dangerous for him to have his photograph and details of his hearing published.
“It has already been reported on broadly in media articles and on the Internet,” Subbiah said.
The Star argued that it was important for his victims to know details of his case and what he looks like now.
One victim who spoke to the Star said it’s important for the public to see Subbiah’s face now.
“I believe the Malaysia public should be fully aware,” she said. “Every border should have his picture.”
Another said she hopes she can finally relax when Subbiah has finally been deported.
“It’s still sort of a presence,” she said. “Maybe the day after he’s finally gone, I’ll maybe celebrate with a glass of wine.”
Subbiah arrived in Canada in 1980 but never obtained permanent resident status. He was granted student and visitor’s visas, and claimed to have studied divinity at McMaster University and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, but did not graduate from any post-secondary course.
He married two women, one of whom fled the country to escape abuse, the hearing heard.
In 1992, he was convicted at the first of two trials that would ultimately see him sentenced to 24 years in prison for 19 counts of sexual assault, 28 counts of administering a drug or noxious substance, 10 counts of various kinds of assault and a dozen other charges, including extortion.
At the time of his sentencing, Justice David Humphrey ordered police to accompany Subbiah back to his native Malaysia and give police there his extensive criminal file when his prison term was complete.
His criminal file sat before him on Monday and appeared to be more than a foot high.
When he was denied parole in 2016, Subbiah was told “you continue to struggle in the areas of victim empathy, remorse and your inability to take full responsibility for your personal choices which results in your lack of mitigation in risk.”
He made no comment at that hearing.
Subbiah committed several of his crimes while posing as a model agent or movie talent scout, often using the names Richard Wild and Ryan Hunter. Occasionally, he also posed as a professional dancer, a lawyer or a diplomat. He also lured women to the basement of his home on Macdonnell Ave. through ads offering to sell exotic pets.
He would offer them a drink laced with drugs, then rape them and take photos of their naked bodies while they were unconscious.
One victim who spoke with The Star said he was polished when he attacked her, some 33 years ago.
“I remember him being smooth, well-practiced,” she said. “He was practiced already, in ’84 or ’85.”
His trial heard that he was carrying a black book containing the names of 170 women, rated on a scale of 0 to 10, when police arrested him on Aug. 7, 1991.
Subbiah was in the news again in 1998, when police told the Star he was using a string of aliases from behind bars and a female accomplice on the outside to con women to send him nude photos and gifts.
