HungryPanda Rider Feng Jianming: Man Charged With Murder
Roberto Urbano, 51, was charged with murder after the fatal stabbing of HungryPanda rider Feng Jianming, 47, in Melbourne's city centre. A second rider was seriously hurt. A fundraiser has passed almost $390,000, and a union wants WorkSafe to investigate the company.
Roberto Urbano, 51, was charged with murder and intentionally causing serious injury on Monday after the fatal stabbing of HungryPanda rider Feng Jianming, 47, in Melbourne's city centre on Friday night, police allege.
Urbano appeared in Melbourne magistrates court via video link. Police say Feng and a second rider confronted him after spotting him tampering with their bikes.
A fight broke out, police allege, and Urbano stabbed both men. Feng died at the scene. The second rider, 34, suffered serious injuries and was still in hospital on Monday morning.
Outburst in court
Urbano called out "Objection, your honour!" and said "I'm the one who was injured". The video link was muted, but he kept speaking and gesturing, and he walked around several times.
He then stood on the chair and pulled down his pants, exposing himself to the courtroom. The link was cut.
The magistrate granted a prosecution application to have the injury to Urbano's right arm photographed and his DNA taken with a mouth swab. His lawyer confirmed he has schizophrenia and asked for the custody nurse to assess him.
Police arrested Urbano on Saturday. Investigators were given extra time to build their case because multiple witnesses need translators. More than 30 CCTV cameras must also be canvassed, holding hundreds of hours of footage.
A family who depended on him
Feng was from China's Shaanxi province and had lived in Australia for about nine years. His wife, Xu, both his parents and his two children all depended on his income.
News of his death spread through Melbourne and gig worker communities in Australia and abroad. Mourners left floral tributes and notes near the state library over the weekend.
Some cards offered sympathy to his family. Others voiced anger, with messages such as "city of criminal" and "Asian lives matter".
A GoFundMe fundraiser set up by the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association had raised almost $390,000 by Monday morning. The money is meant for emergency travel and funeral costs for Feng's family.
The association's head, Christina Zhao, said his death had weighed heavily on colleagues and on gig worker communities in China, Japan and Korea.
Union presses HungryPanda
HungryPanda said it is helping the family with visa arrangements, funeral expenses, financial support and insurance.
The Transport Workers' Union said the company must confirm it properly assessed risks to its workers. National secretary Michael Kaine said HungryPanda "has legal obligations to do whatever it can to minimise risk as food delivery riders carry out their work".
Kaine said the company "must urgently confirm whether it has done this". The union is calling on WorkSafe to investigate whether HungryPanda failed in its duties.
