The man who killed Auckland taxi driver Hiren Mohini has been jailed for 15 years after he was found guilty of murder in a Chinese court.Zhen Xiao, 24, stabbed Mr Mohini to death in his taxi, which was found crashed in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden on January 31 last year.
Zhen fled to China a few days after the stabbing and was arrested there in June 2010.
He was tried in China because there is no extradition treaty between the two countries.
Detective Senior Sergeant Hywel Jones, the officer in charge of the investigation in Auckland, said the verdict was no surprise.
"The evidence against Xiao that was collected, collated and presented to the court was compelling,'' he said.
"The prosecution process has been intriguing and is a testament to international co-operation. I have advised Hiren's family of today's outcome.''
Zhen's trial before a panel of judges in Shanghai's Second Intermediate Court lasted only a few hours because there were no prosecution witnesses, just hand-up evidence from New Zealand police which had been translated into Mandarin.
The court cited Zhen's remorse over the killing as a reason for not imposing a harsher sentence.
New Zealand sought an assurance from the Chinese that if he was found guilty he would not get the death sentence.
Zhen told the court he did not mean to kill Mr Mohini.
It was the first time in New Zealand legal history that a person had been tried in another country for a killing committed in New Zealand.
Mr Mohini's widow, Falguni, said last week life had been emotionally hard on her and her daughters, Hetvi, five, and Yashvi, seven, since the trial began.
"I am trying to do my best for my girls,'' she told NZPA.
Yashvi was very upset.
"She is seven years old so she understands what is going on.''
Mrs Mohini said she was getting good support from around the country, particularly from the Indian community and even people she did not know.
She said she wanted to thank them all.
Yesterday a Kiwi guy called up and said 'I am very much concerned and very much worried about your daughters and how you are coping'. I am very thankful to all of them.''
