A "relationship of distrust" between police and the Asian community may worsen after charges against a man accused of murdering Vietnamese moneylender Lien Nguyen were thrown out of court.
Hung Anh Nguyen, aged 39, was to have gone on trial yesterday for murdering the 35-year-old mother-of-two in South Auckland in May
1998.
But in a pre-trial hearing in the High Court at Auckland, Justice Fisher discharged Nguyen after ruling certain evidence inadmissible.
That left insufficient evidence to justify the trial proceeding.
Last night, United Asian Association spokesman Ken Yee told the Herald that the police failure to nail a conviction for the murder would increase division between them and the Asian community.
"There is a feeling among the Asian community that police have not done their job again," he said.
"We rely on police to do their homework before they bring someone to court.
"In the Glen Innes murder [of Kylie Jones] police are still investigating even though they have arrested someone. Why is that different?"
Lien Nguyen's husband, Dat Van Nguyen, found her dead on the living-room floor when he arrived home from work.
She had been strangled with a heater cord wrapped tightly around her neck and jewellery had been stripped from her body.
The couple's baby daughter, Wendy, was found unharmed in a cot covered by blankets and a pillow.
Mr Yee said it was strange that the police case against Hung Anh Nguyen had fallen over.
While police had tried very hard to improve their relationship with the Asian community, "old habits certainly take a long time to die."
He said police and Asians had to learn to trust each other and work together.
The police officer in charge of the case, Detective Sergeant Nigel McGlone, said cultural problems were not the reason the investigation failed.
"We got over any cultural problems we had very quickly. We built up a rapport and it was no different to any other murder investigation at the end of the day."
Detective Sergeant McGlone said police would not investigate anyone else in relation to the case.
"We are just gathering our thoughts as to whether we'll reopen the investigation," he said.
The head of the Asian Crime Unit, Detective Tim Chao, rejected accusations that the authorities turned a blind eye to crime involving Asians.
"We treat everyone the same, be they Asian, Indian, Pakeha, Maori or whatever."
