Dying man describes his attacker

By TONY WALL

As Shiu Prasad sat bleeding to death on the footpath outside his Mangere liquor store yesterday, he gave police a detailed description of his killer.

The respected member of the Fiji Indian community who was to have been sworn in as a justice of the peace next month used a cordless phone to dial 111 and tell police that he had been stabbed and needed help urgently.

Officers arrived to find Mr Prasad still conscious. As his life ebbed away, he described the man who attacked him during an attempted robbery.

The 53-year-old businessman was taken to Middlemore Hospital just a few hundred metres away and was still talking as he went into surgery.

But he died in theatre a couple of hours later, having lost blood from deep cuts to the head, neck and abdomen.

The hunt is now on for the killer, described as a Maori or Pacific Islander aged around 25, with a shaven or bald head.

He was wearing black pants, a black jacket and a black beanie.

Police are investigating whether he is the same man who tried to rob Mr Prasad's Liquor Warehouse in Massey Rd on July 5.

On that occasion, Mr Prasad was attacked by an armed man but he fought back and the robber fled.

The store was also burgled about two weeks ago. Thieves cut their way through a wall and made off with liquor.

Mr Prasad had told his family that he was worried by the incidents.

"I suggested to him that he should be more careful in future," brother-in-law Rajendra Singh said.

Mr Prasad had hired security guards but they worked only evenings.

Detective Senior Sergeant Bernie Hollewand, of Counties Manukau police, said Mr Prasad was alone about 11 am yesterday when he was brutally attacked at the rear of the store during what appeared to be an attempted robbery. The robber is believed to have left empty-handed.

A woman who arrived to use a cash machine found Mr Prasad collapsed. She gave him first aid and called an ambulance.

Mr Prasad's wife, Satya, a home economics teacher at the Southern Cross Campus in Mangere, rushed to the hospital when she heard of the attack but he had already gone into surgery and she did not get to speak to him.

The death has shocked the Fiji Indian community, of which Mr Prasad was described as a leading light.

His son Ashu, 23, is a pilot for an airline in Fiji and Ashu's twin sister, Sitanshu, works as an accountant in Auckland.

Mr Prasad was a district officer in Fiji, and worked for the Fiji Trade and Investment Board before coming to New Zealand with his family after the 1987 military coups.

The family lived in Wairoa before shifting to Howick.

Mr Prasad gained a masters degree from Massey University two years ago and went into the liquor business about that time.

A close friend, Auckland lawyer Dr Ajit Singh, was devastated by the death. He had been looking forward to celebrating his and Mr Prasad's birthdays jointly in October.

Dr Singh said his friend was a devout Hindu, who always led prayer services.

"He was one of the most saintly people I know.

"He was a leader in the community. People have been ringing me and each one has said, 'A part of me has gone today'."

Dr Singh said Mr Prasad believed in democracy and had been upset at this year's political turmoil in Fiji. But when his son came to New Zealand recently, he encouraged him to return to Fiji and continue his career as a pilot.

Police hope to find an image of the killer through surveillance camera footage.