By RNZ
A community safety meeting is being held in Christchurch amid increased unease in the aftermath of Yanfei Bao’s disappearance and crime in the city.
A 52-year-old man has been charged with kidnapping and murdering the 44-year-old real estate agent, who vanished from the suburb of Hornby on 19 July. The man has pleaded not guilty to both charges and is remanded in custody.
Real estate agents across the country have also told RNZ Asia about their concerns doing their jobs after the disappearance of Bao.
The community meeting at Runway in Wigram on Saturday afternoon was led by the Asian Community Transformation Trust and included speakers from Canterbury Neighbourhood Support.
Trust manager Allen Hou said they held regular public meetings, with this being their third, especially for Chinese-speaking immigrants.
“That’s mainly where our volunteers are from. So we’re more equipped with that cultural understanding and language to provide something for that demographic.”
While the location chosen had nothing to do with the Bao case, the safety meeting was somewhat influenced by it as well as the general levels of crime in the city, Hou said.
“It has caused the Chinese community, that we are connected, with to talk more about it, wonder more about it, and does somewhat prompt us to say maybe safety is a good conversation to have,” he said.
“The topic about crime and safety has been on our minds ... that has always kind of been on people’s mind over the last few years and I think this [Bao disappearance] just triggers it a bit more because it’s directly impacting the Chinese community.
“Before we know the details of [the Bao case], everyone is just wondering, could this happen to me? Anytime? Anywhere? Is this just a random act?
“It is on our mind, it does trigger something, but I think it’s just an accumulation of what we’ve been observing, about the perception of crime rate increasing in Christchurch, that’s getting people a bit more concerned.”
Last month, seven Canterbury businesses were targeted in an overnight crime spree, with the owner of one of the shops hit saying workers feared for their safety every day.
In May, there was another flurry of break-ins in one night.
Wendy Morrison, whose Hornby’s Liquor Centre store was left with thousands of dollars worth of damage after an attack, had told RNZ she believed crime in the city had reached “crisis point”.
Wigram MP Megan Woods at the time said everyone acknowledged there was a problem in the city, but lauded the expansion of the intensive youth programme to Hamilton and Christchurch.
“We do have a need for it in Christchurch.”
Hou said the focus of the meeting would be on practical steps the public could take to protect themselves.
“Hopefully, this will help give a sense of calm and ease more to the community, something they can do tangibly. We’re very fortunate that we have a couple of people with great experiences ... contributing to this discussion space.
“It’s just about safety, security, how can we as individuals in communities, and even families, build a safer environment for our families and our future.
“We don’t want people just to feel even more fearful, we want them to feel like there’s something I can do and there are 100 people today that want to do similar things, so not all hope is lost, there’s people who want to build safer communities together.”
Yanfei Bao search continues
Earlier this month, police made a public appeal for information about a tracksuit, top and spade they believed were discarded in the Christchurch area in the days after Bao disappeared, but they would not be drawn on the significance of the items.
On Friday with the support of Fire and Emergency, police were searching a farm in Greenpark, south of the city, close to a previous search location - Lake Ellesmere.
A police spokesperson said search efforts were ongoing in that area on Saturday.
The man accused of kidnapping and murdering Bao is due back in court next month.