Language barrier slows murder inquiry

Xiukun Feng took over running the Night Pearl massage parlour on Auckland's Great North Rd a few months ago. Picture / Greg Bowker

Inquiries into the murder of Mt Wellington woman Xiukun Feng are taking some time because most of her friends and family speak little English.

Police have spent the past few days trying to trace the 54-year-old's final movements but the process is slow due to language difficulties.

"A lot of the interviews are requiring interpreters so they are taking a lot of time," said Detective Senior Sergeant John Sutton, the officer in charge of the inquiry.

Ms Feng is believed to have died of a head injury, some time between Friday and the early hours of Saturday. Her body was found in the early hours of Sunday slumped in the back seat of a grey-gold Mitsubishi Eterna, but it is not known if she died in the car, which is registered to her husband.

The car, which the China-born woman often used, was parked in the carpark of the New Lynn Warehouse, less than a kilometre from a massage parlour she ran on Gt North Rd.

The Night Pearl massage parlour has been closed since Monday but neighbouring shopkeepers say it was open on Sunday, the day her body was found. One said he went into the business asking for Ms Feng, who is also known as Nancy, but staff said they did not know where their boss was.

Yesterday, as police continued their homicide investigation, the parlour remained closed for a second day in a row, despite the sign in the window saying otherwise.

There is a smashed window at the back which is not believed to have been there last week.

Police are expected to continue making inquiries in the area today.

Mr Sutton said police were looking for several of Ms Feng's personal items which appear to be missing.

They include a red handbag, a black and gold watch, a Samsung cellphone and a distinctive cat keyring. Anyone with information about these items should contact the Henderson police.

News of Ms Feng's death is being followed closely in the Asian community, with several media outlets running developments in the story.

One website, Skykiwi, has run three stories since Sunday. The stories have received about 4500 hits.

Family of the dead woman, who had been married to a New Zealand man for six years, are understood to be arranging the necessary paperwork to fly here for her funeral.

A close relative said Ms Feng's husband, whom she lived with in Mt Wellington, was "holding up as well as can be expected".

He is not believed to have been involved with the massage parlour, which Ms Feng took over from a Kelston-based Chinese man several months ago.