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The trial of Xiao Chen (Chinese: 肖真) in Shanghai, China, for the murder of Hiren Mohini in Mount Eden, New Zealand, is notable as the first time a New Zealand murder has been tried in a foreign court.[1] In the Chinese media, the case was frequently referred to as "New Zealand's first murder case" (新西兰第一命案).[2]
Hiren Mohini, a taxi driver born in Mumbai,[3] had picked up a fare in central Auckland and gone to Mount Eden between 1:00 am and 2:00 am on 31 January 2010. At Mount Eden, he was fatally stabbed, apparently by a passenger. Police found a knife and soon had a suspect, based partly on CCTV footage.[4][5] NZ$100,000 was raised from the New Zealand public to support Mohini's family.[citation needed]
The suspect, Xiao Zhen, was a 23-year old Chinese national and kitchen worker at the SkyCity casino complex.[6] Zhen left New Zealand for China on 4 February, apparently to visit a sick grandfather. China does not have an extradition agreement with New Zealand and in any case does not extradite Chinese citizens even when an extradition treaty does exist.[7]
After reciprocal visits between the New Zealand and Chinese police, Xiao Zhen was arrested in Shanghai in June 2010.[2][8] The New Zealand authorities obtained formal written assurances that the death penalty would not be invoked.[9] New Zealand has not had the death penalty for murder since 1961, and does not extradite criminal suspects to countries where they could face a death sentence.
All the New Zealand evidence was translated into Chinese by the New Zealand police for the trial[10] at the Second Intermediate People's Court in Shanghai[11] at which the suspect confessed.[8] Xiao Zhen claimed that Mohini had verbally insulted him after he boarded the taxi. Xiao demanded that he stop the taxi and refused to pay the fare. A struggle ensued, and Xiao Zhen stabbed the driver with a kitchen knife.[2] The trial lasted only a few hours, with no in-person evidence presented, but Mandarin translations of witness statements and evidence were handed up to the judges. A verdict and sentence was expected on 17 August 2011.[12]
On 17 August, Xiao Zhen was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[13]
Associate Professor Bill Hodge of the University of Auckland called the trial "an insult to New Zealand jurisdiction".[14]
- Murder of Amanda Zhao, a similar case in Canada
- Murder of Shao Tong, a similar case in the U.S.
- Murder of Zhang Hongjie, a similar case in Australia
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