Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has spoken with the family of a dairy worker fatally stabbed in her Auckland electorate and says Cabinet will meet next week to discuss rising crime.
Janak Patel (34) died on Wednesday night after being allegedly stabbed by a man who stole a cash register from the Rose Cottage Superette in the suburb of Sandringham.
He was fatally injured after following the robber and then allegedly getting into an altercation with him about 100 metres from the store.
A 34-year-old man was found at a New Lynn property last night and charged with murder and aggravated robbery. He appeared in the Auckland District Court this morning and was remanded in custody.
Another man (42) has been charged with robbery.
Ardern has been criticised for not visiting the area. Today, she gave a media conference at the Auckland Central Police Station with Minister of Police Chris Hipkins and Priyanca Radhakrishnan, the Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, after meeting with community leaders.
The Prime Minister said she has spoken with the the victim's family, but hadn't yet been able to meet with them in person.
“I’m very mindful of the fact they haven’t yet laid their loved one to rest... but I would like to meet with them face to face. I would describe the conversation as full of sorrow.”
Ardern said she had reached out to the owner of the dairy but said she had not visited the site where the man died.
“The most important thing for us today was to meet with those that were affected. I’ve reached out to the owner and spoken to the family, they are the focus for me.”
She said she had met with police and Oranga Tamariki on the day of the stabbing about the rise of crime and would be meeting with Cabinet on Monday to discuss what more could be done.
It was about “prosecuting and holding to account those who are responsible”, she said.
“I think the most important thing is that we are able to talk directly with one another.”
Ardern said she had “presided” over a Government that had increased police number and resources, and sentences had also not lessened.
“We have been looking to add tools, we have not taken them away... We have been doing that for some time now.”
Hipkins said police were working with retailers to try to do things “to keep themselves safe”. Individual assessments of stores were being carried out.
“Police on a daily basis are giving businesses daily guidance on how they can keep themselves safe.”
Ardern said there was a “spike” in a particular sort of crime that was “horrific”.
“No New Zealander wants them operating under those circumstances.”
People should acknowledge the hard work of police in getting an arrest in the homicide, she said, and the arrest of two men yesterday “will bring some relief of course, but it will not take away the grief that the family is feeling at this time."
Chathams trip criticised
Dairy and Business Owners Group chairman Sunny Kaushal earlier said Patel’s wife was “in trauma... she is not speaking”.
The dairy is in Ardern’s electorate, and she had not visited the area since the death.
Kaushal wrote in an opinion piece for The New Zealand Herald: “Giving 16-year-olds the vote has the Prime Minister giddy with excitement while the death of a dairy worker in her own electorate generates tea and sympathy.”
He called on the Government to admit there was a “crime emergency” in New Zealand.
“There has to be a wake-up call because something is rotten that a hard-working young man who started work in a dairy, never went home to his spouse,” Kaushal wrote. “We have a crime emergency but we also have a social emergency.”
The Government and Ardern have also come under fire from Act Party leader David Seymour, who said the Prime Minister had displayed a “complete lack of judgment” by opting to visit the Chatham Islands and not her grief-stricken electorate.
“Instead of dropping everything to be in her electorate and making the response to retail crime a priority, she is on a plane to the Chathams."
Ardern defended the trip - her first visit to the Chathams - saying she had been in touch with some Mt Albert community leaders and she also didn’t want to disturb Patel’s grieving family.
“It is my local community so I will be looking to be present there as soon as I’m able to.
"But I’m also very aware there’s a family grieving and there is an active police investigation into a homicide and I do need to delicately balance being in the right place in the right time.”
Ardern also rejected any suggestion that her not being in Sandringham represented a Government not doing enough to address crime.
Candlelight vigil
Mourners are set to gather tonight for a candlelit vigil near the scene of the death of Patel - a man remembered as a “cherished loved one” - as shock waves about the “heinous” fatal stabbing continue to be felt in communities throughout the country.
Those present are expected to include a large number of dairy workers and owners.
“I need justice for my brother,” Patel’s sister told the Weekend Herald via an intermediary last night.
She called on the killer to be held accountable and given “the toughest punishment”.
Patel had only recently moved to Auckland from Hamilton, and was looking after the Rose Cottage Superette while its owners were overseas.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard said police hoped the arrests of the two men would “bring some reassurance to the Sandringham community after this tragic event”.
Police were still seeking sightings of a dark-coloured Honda Inspire seen a number of times.
“We would like to thank all those who have already contacted police with information,” Beard said.
“Police still need to hear from anyone who witnessed the altercation that occurred around 100m from the dairy, or believe they saw the offender on foot, before or after the incident.”
Meanwhile, an Auckland dairy owner whose wife and son were badly injured by a knife-wielding robber in a “terrifying” attack in 2018 says the killing of Janak Patel is a tragedy and sign of growing violence.
“It’s sad that could happen,” Navin Patel, who owns Grey Lynn’s Hylite Dairy, told the Weekend Herald.
“It’s very bad. I think the crime is getting out of control right now.”
In June 2018, Navin Patel’s wife Gita and son Siddhart were attacked as they worked at the family store on Great North Rd.
• Anyone with information on this week’s stabbing can contact police via the 105 phoneline, as well as contacting Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
