Wife of Mumbaikar killed in New Zealand looks for closure

When Falguni Mohini heard on Monday that the Chinese man who had killed her husband Hiren in an Auckland taxi in January had been arrested in Shanghai, she felt the painful pangs of retributive justice.  

“We’ve been traumatised for the past few months, but when we got news of the arrest, we felt a little glad that (the alleged killer) will be punished,” Falguni, the mother of two girls, told DNA over the telephone from Auckland.

Investigators believe Zhen Xiao, 23, who was arrested in Shanghai, hailed the cab in Auckland driven by Hiren, 39, who came to New Zealand from Mumbai in 2003. According to police investigators, Hiren was stabbed many times with a knife, in a “frenzied, vicious” and apparently motiveless attack. The killer fled the scene, and later left New Zealand for China, but he was identified from security video footage.  

Hiren’s grief-stricken mother Vasantiben said she wants to “look into the eyes” of the alleged killer, “slap him” and demand to know why he had killed her only son. But Falguni says she only wants closure to the traumatic episode, even if it means the alleged killer is tried and sentenced in China. “We hear that he will face stricter punishment in China than in New Zealand,” she told DNA.  

China and New Zealand don’t have an extradition treaty, and legal authorities in New Zealand expect lawyers in China to contest an extradition. However, forensic evidence and incriminating security footage is in New Zealand. Falguni says she isn’t clear how it will work out, but investigators are believed to be exploring avenues to bring the alleged killer to trial in New Zealand.  

Falguni says her daughters Yashvi, 5, and Hetvi, 3 can’t grasp what happened to their father. “Hetvi, in particular, keeps asking when papa will be back, and whether he has had lunch or dinner.”
The Gujarati Indian community in Auckland was shocked by the killing in January, particularly as it apparently lacked a motive. Friends recalled that Hiren wasn’t the cabbie who would argue with passengers, even if — as happened sometimes — they couldn’t pay the fare.  

Falguni says the Indian community, police and government had been very helpful, and had provided “all support”.