Slain store owner's widow: Police failed us

Harjinder Kaur was unable to hold back her emotions as she talked of the loss of Navtej. Photo / Greg Bowker

The widow of slain liquor store owner Navtej Singh believes police delays hindered her husband's chances of survival, and is demanding answers over their actions.

Harjinder Kaur comforted her fatally wounded husband in their Manurewa store as police waited outside for 26 minutes, despite 111 staff having been assured the armed robbers had fled.

In the High Court at Auckland yesterday, one of the six men accused of Mr Singh's murder, Anitelea Chan Kee, 22, was found guilty.

The other five were found not guilty of murder or manslaughter but were found guilty, or pleaded guilty, to aggravated robbery.

Mrs Kaur is shocked the five were acquitted on the murder charges, and remains angry about the way police handled the armed robbery of the liquor store in June 2008.

Mr Singh's grieving family believe the police delays hindered his chance of survival.

"I'm still very angry with the police," Mrs Kaur said. "I just can't understand why they took so long ... I don't believe any New Zealand citizen should be treated like that. The police did not do enough to save Navtej."

Thirty-year-old Mr Singh was shot in the chest with a .22 rifle - while holding his hands in the air - for a few boxes of liquor and the till cash. Security camera images showed the robbers laughing as they left.

The Singh family have laid a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority over the police delays.

An IPCA spokesman said the report was finished, but could not be released for at least another 30 days, until the appeal period for Chan Kee's conviction expired.

Police and St John staff have defended the delay in helping Mr Singh, saying it was an armed situation and best-practice procedures - including waiting at a safe point - had to be followed.

At the time of the shooting, Detective Inspector Jim Gallagher said police had to establish the gunman's whereabouts to ensure no one else's life was in danger.

Police also had to wait for firearms to arrive so armed officers could check the scene before letting anyone, including medics, inside.

But the Herald understands a police internal review found a squad car carrying firearms to the crime scene took the wrong set of keys to unlock the weapons cache.

Officers had to wait for someone to rush back to get the correct keys.

The death of Mr Singh - and the unanswered questions - have taken a heavy toll on his family.

In an emotional interview through an interpreter, Mrs Kaur told the Herald "there is no meaning for my life any more" after her husband's death.

The couple married in India in 2001, then moved to New Zealand the following year to build a better life.

They have three children - Hakirat, 7, Narnoor, 5, and Harrop, 2.

Mr Singh worked hard to save money for his family, and bought the Riverton Rd liquor store in February 2008, six months before he was murdered.

His father, Nahar Singh, said Navtej would work at the Papakura post office from 5am to 9am, then go to the liquor store in Manurewa to start a 12-hour shift.

The family were proud of owning their own business, but sold it a year later as it was a constant reminder of their loss.

"We regret buying the store now," Nahar Singh said. "Otherwise Navtej would never have been lost to us."

The children still come home and ask to play with their father; their mother has no answers for them.

The convictions have brought a sense of closure, but during the trial, Harjinder Kaur was too scared to go to court.

Even coverage of the case in the media was too difficult to read or watch, but she went to hear the jury deliver its verdict.

"We remember every day ... we remember all day, how he died," she said. "There is no meaning for my life any more."

GRIEVING FATHER'S SUICIDE ATTEMPT

The violent death of Navtej Singh was so painful for his father that he tried to kill himself.

Two months ago, Nahar Singh watched the video of his only son's funeral service. He became so emotional that for the first time he drank alcohol.

Mr Singh left his family home in Manurewa and wandered along the Hill Rd overbridge before jumping on to the Southern Motorway.

He was lucky to survive with fractured limbs, but he still needs a walking frame to move around.

In Sikh culture, the eldest son takes care of his parents in their retirement. Now, their future is as uncertain as that of Navtej's widow and children.

Nahar Singh shared his personal experience to show New Zealand the emotional toll his son's death has taken.

TIMETABLE OF TRAGEDY

POLICE

9.05pm: Police receive first 111 call about robbery.
9.06pm: First police units dispatched.
9.09pm: Police advised of shooting.
9.12pm: First unit, a police dog handler, at safe point. Helicopter above within minutes.
9.20pm: Confirmation person has been shot.
9.31pm: Police enter liquor store.
9.36pm: Officers tell St John medics they can go in.

ST JOHN

9.07pm: St John receives first 111 call.
9.10pm: First unit dispatched.
9.18pm: Rapid response unit arrives at safe point.
9.33pm: Safe point moved closer to scene.
9.38pm: Senior paramedics enter store.
9.52pm: Ambulance leaves for hospital.