Ludhiana, Dec 23: Family members of Indian student, Nitin Garg, who was murdered, expressed their contentment over the verdict of the Australian court that has sentenced the accused up to 13 years of imprisonment.

The 17-year-old teenager, known as JLE as his identity can not be revealed under court orders, stabbed Nitin Garg to death in Melbourne in a bungled attempt to rob him of a mobile phone.

Nitin’s brother, Hanish Garg appreciated the Australian court’s decision.

“We got to know from media reports that the murderer has been sentenced up to 13 years of imprisonment and the hearing for the second one is in progress. Our friend Amanjeet filed the case through which these people have been punished.”

“We would like to thank both the Australian government as well as the Indian government for punishing the accused. I hope that Indians will not be facing any such problems in future,” said Hanish Garg.

The killing came amid a string of attacks in late 2009 and early 2010 against Indian students in Melbourne and Sydney. The violence received widespread publicity in India, with some news outlets there claiming the attacks were racially motivated.

In handing down sentence, Victorian Supreme Court Judge Paul Coghlan said the murder was opportunistic, with Garg targeted as he walked home from work at night, and “probably took place in less than a minute,” local media reported from the court.

Coghlan said despite the fact JLE did not intend to kill Garg, and did not even know if he had stabbed his victim, he was still guilty of “constructive murder” because the killing occurred in the process of committing a violent offence.

Australia’s international student sector is the country’s third largest export earner, behind coal and iron ore in 2010. Enrolments of international students continue to tumble, dropping 9.4 percent in the last year.