Kiwi killed in Jamaica 'harmless as a butterfly'

Nickie-Jean and Tiki Hunia were on holiday in the Caribbean after renewing their wedding vows in Las Vegas.

A friend of the New Zealander shot dead in Jamaica after he refused to hand his cell phone over to a gunman has described him as a "people's man".

Tiki Hunia, 27, and Nickie-Jean Hunia, who live in Hong Kong, were approached by a gunman in the yard of the guest house in which they were holidaying on Upper Montrose Rd - an expensive area known as the "Golden Triangle" in the Kingston suburb of St Andrew.

Kara Warren flatted with Mr Hunia in Hamilton and attended his wedding.

"I can't help but smile and remember the good times, that's what is getting all of us through, aye," Mr Warren said.

He said Mr Hunia treated all his friends as if they were his "best mates".

Mr Warren said Mr Hunia helped him when his grand mother passed away.

And although Mr Hunia was a tall man, he was as "harmless as a butterfly".

"He could have been the enforcer or something like that but he chose to be a pleasant guy," Mr Warren said.

Mr Warren said Mr Hunia and his wife Nickie-Jean had just renewed their marriage vows in Las Vegas.

He said the song from the musical Grease - Hopelessly Devoted - reminds him of the couple.

"We made feeds every night [at the flat] and she'd always make his dinner and bonus for us, there'd be enough for us. She's a good cook," Mr Warren said.

Asked if that meant he would get seconds, Mr Warren said: "We'd push ours aside".

He said he got the news of Mr Hunia's death when a friend phoned him and he was "stunned".

"We're still in disbelief about the whole thing," Mr Warren said.

- NZHERALD STAFF