By TONY WALL
The family of murder victim Shiu Prasad are trying hard not to be sad.
They know that Mr Prasad - a cheerfully optimistic man who saw the good in everyone, even those who robbed him - would not want his loved ones to grieve.
But his wife, Satya, and their
twin children, Ashu and Sitanshu, cannot stop the tears. The senselessness of the death is too much to bear.
Mr Prasad, aged 53, was stabbed repeatedly in his Mangere liquor store on Tuesday during a robbery, and died later in Middlemore Hospital. Police revealed yesterday that he lost his life for just $150, which the killer took from a till.
After the attack, Mr Prasad staggered outside with a cordless telephone and spoke to police and ambulance staff, providing a detailed description of his killer. His family are proud of his courage.
Daughter Sitanshu, tears streaming down her face, whispers: "He was so brave."
Despite his grave injuries, Mr Prasad was coherent and focused enough to describe his attacker and tell paramedics about the medication he took for a heart condition.
His family believe he did not realise how badly injured he was.
The Herald spoke to Mr Prasad's family at their Howick home yesterday, after his son Ashu, an airline pilot, had returned from Fiji.
Sitanshu said: "We're trying to be strong for him because we know he's looking down on us. He's probably wondering why we're making such a fuss. Even if someone harmed him he'd still have something positive to say about that person."
The family say Mr Prasad was a humble, hard-working man who loved to spend time with them.
A number of thefts and burglaries had them worried about his working at the liquor store, but Mr Prasad's attitude to those who stole from him was that "they are less fortunate than us."
A friend made Mr Prasad a wooden baton for protection. He used it once. On July 5 a man with a knife - possibly the same man who killed him - entered the store and threatened one of Mr Prasad's employees.
"Dad hit him on the shoulder - he didn't want to hurt him," Ashu said. "When he told us about it later it was like a joke to him. He couldn't see bad in anyone - forgiveness was his main thing."
His attitude worried his family.
"We used to get mad with him because he was so nice to everybody - we wanted him to take it more seriously," Sitanshu said.
Mr Prasad also employed a security guard, who would get friends from the neighbourhood to watch the store around closing time while the day's takings were removed.
Mrs Prasad, a teacher at the Southern Cross Campus in Mangere, has left her job and is not sure of her future.
Detective Senior Sergeant Bernie Hollewand, of Counties Manukau police, said 35 officers were working on the case. They are still looking for the murder weapon and witnesses.
Mr Prasad's video surveillance camera was not working at the time.
Police said last night that a stabbing yesterday near Mr Prasad's store was unrelated to the murder.
By TONY WALL
The family of murder victim Shiu Prasad are trying hard not to be sad.
They know that Mr Prasad - a cheerfully optimistic man who saw the good in everyone, even those who robbed him - would not want his loved ones to grieve.
But his wife, Satya, and their
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