HungryPanda rider Feng worked in rain until alleged murder
Feng Jianming, a 47-year-old HungryPanda delivery rider, died in an alleged stabbing near Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market. A man was charged with murder on Monday. The death has raised fears among gig workers and Chinese students ahead of the Victorian election.
HungryPanda delivery rider Feng Jianming, 47, died at the scene of an alleged stabbing on Frederick Way, near Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market, on Friday night, and a 51-year-old man was charged with murder on Monday, Victoria police said.
The killing has shaken Melbourne's gig workers, Chinese business owners and international students. It also lands weeks before the Victorian election at the end of the month, where crime is a key battleground.
Police said Feng and another delivery rider confronted a man who was allegedly tampering with their bikes just after 8pm. Feng died at the scene. The second rider, 34, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
On Monday morning police charged a Footscray man, 51, with one count of murder and intentionally causing serious injury. He remains in custody.
Feng was a Chinese national from Shaanxi province who had lived in Melbourne for nine years. His wife, Xu Hongfeng, told local media he was the breadwinner for the family back home. He had planned to return in a few years when their son got married.
A fellow HungryPanda rider, who gave her name as Lee and asked that her surname not be published, stopped on Monday afternoon at a memorial of flowers and popular Chinese drinks at the site. She said she knew Feng and sometimes worked the morning shift with him.
"He was always very frugal and thrifty, doing his best to be fast," Lee said. "We work in the rain, delivering from early morning until dark."
She said food is often stolen if riders are not careful, and their vehicles get ticketed.
Christina Zhao, head of the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association, said business owners are "scared". The association has raised more than $400,000 to help Feng's family.
"Melbourne is still a city we love. But I just hope, you know, government can take action," she said.
Jingqi Sun, president of the University of Melbourne's Chinese Students and Scholars Association, said Chinese international students have expressed fear. "It's important to protect our community … because safety is a basic human right," she said.
Evelyn Zou, who came from China to study in Australia at 15 and has lived there for 10 years, said she is considering moving back. "Recently, I feel like Melbourne, it's not a safe city," she said. She said many Chinese residents post about crime on social media rather than report it, because she does not think police will act.
Chinese platforms such as WeChat and RedNote have filled with posts about people's run-ins with crime. Victoria police urged residents to report incidents directly.
"The only way we can really build trust with our community is for them to come to us, to tell us what's happening," said Jo Stafford, the force's assistant commissioner for the north-west metro region.
HungryPanda is a food delivery company founded in the UK that targets the Chinese expatriate market in 10 countries. In Australia it operates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has vowed to work with the Transport Workers' Union on protections for gig economy workers.
