Auckland cabbie Hiren Mohini’s wife wants to confront murder suspect

The widow of slain Indian-origin taxi driver Hiren Mohini has said that she wants to confront her husband’s murderer, who is in custody and awaiting trail in Shanghai.

Falguni Mohini was widowed after Hiren was killed in a frenzied knife attack in the early hours of January 31.

The murder suspect, named in Auckland District Court files as Zhen Xiao, had fled the country after the killing, and was located and detained by Chinese authorities in Shanghai in June.

Now, the mother of two wants to ask her husband’s killer: “Why did you kill Hiren? My children really miss their father, they miss their dad everyday. Our lives will never be the same.”

Falguni also says that Xiao’s arrest would not bring back her daughters’ father.

“They are finding it very hard. We are sad, it will be the first one [Christmas] without their father,” the New Zealand Herald quoted Falguni, as saying.

Police believe that Mohini was stabbed by his last passenger, who attacked him to avoid paying a $15.20 fare.

Now, in a legal first between New Zealand and China, Zhen is expected to stand trial in China over murder charges.

Zhen was identified from SkyCity security-camera images taken on the night of the killing.