KEY POINTS:
A 16-year-old boy charged with the murdering a 22-year-old man in a Manurewa dairy has appeared in the Manukau Youth Court.
Krishna Naidu was stabbed in his father's Manurewa dairy on Friday.
The 16-year-old accused of killing him made no plea today, standing quietly in the dock. His lawyer asked for time to consult and prepare a defence.
The judge said the case needed to be kept moving as quickly as possible.
The teenager was granted name suppression and remanded in custody to appear again on February 19.
Krishna Naidu was farewelled yesterday in a service that combined tears, laughter and anger as his family and friends shared memories of the decent, hard-working and respectful economics student.
More than 1000 mourners filled the Manukau Memorial Gardens Chapel, with many having to stand in the foyer to watch the service on televisions.
The congregation, which included members of the South Auckland community who had not met Mr Naidu, including Manukau City Mayor Len Brown, also spilled outside.
Mr Naidu was stabbed to death on Friday afternoon while working in his family's Finlayson Superette in Clendon. Ironically, at the time of the attack, Mr Naidu's parents, Hari and Shanti Naidu, were taking food to another family who had just lost a loved one.
The man, Radne Gaunder, 42, was also farewelled yesterday at the chapel in a service the Naidus attended before that of their son.
One of Mr Naidu's cousins, Morit Mudilar, said the 22-year-old was a prankster. "He was always trying to find a way to play a practical joke when you least expected it."
He told of a visit to Delhi with Mr Naidu and his family when the pair were younger. His cousin had wandered away from the group, worrying his mother. "When he came back to the unit [Mrs Naidu] asked where he had been. Krishna just flashed his cheeky smile. She couldn't stay angry at him for more than five minutes."
Another cousin, Krishneel Shelley, said the love the Naidus had for their son and his sister Devika was obvious.
"Being the only son, Krishna was his mother's pet. From asking for a new pair of shoes to asking for a new car - he got it. ... Krishna and Devika were groomed to be model citizens."
He told how Devika would show her love for her brother by fixing his favourite Indian dish, butter chicken. "One thing Krishna loved was food. When I was visiting Auckland, KFC would be our first stop. He also loved his mum's home cooked meals."
Through tears, another cousin, Sachilda Nand, said Mr Naidu was a "good boy" who had never been interested in alcohol. "I never heard him say 'Let's go have a night clubbing'."
He said Mr Naidu would usually dress casually, often with missing buttons on his shirts and an unshaven face. "The nicest I've ever seen him dressed is today."
Master of Ceremonies Giyannendra Prasad, who went to school with Mr Naidu's father, told how the family came to this country from Fiji in 2001 to build a new future for themselves "after the events of 2000"- referring to the George Speight coup. "One senseless, mindless, cruel, callous, kindless act robbed Krishna from that forever. Krishna's life has been taken away in a country they'd accepted as their new home.
"One family has been shattered through one act of brutality. Is this the vision that we had aspired to? These are the questions the community is asking. Let me say to the Naidus that we share your grief, we share your pain, we share your agony. But however much we share your feelings ... we will never comprehend the extent of your anguish."
At the end of the service, people filed past Mr Naidu's open coffin, placing flowers and paying their last respects before he was taken to a room with immediate family to be cremated.
Manukau City councillor Daniel Newman, who was at the funeral, told the Herald that South Auckland's reputation was in tatters and something had to be done to address the issue.
Today he told NZPA he would speak to family members about organising a vigil or march because there was sense of need for reconciliation.
If the family agreed, the event would occur after the 16-day mourning period.
"There is a feeling within the community that people would like to be able to take their community back and celebrate that Clendon is by and large a good place," Mr Newman said.
"It's home to a vast majority of residents who are law-abiding."
Mr Newman said there was "immense frustration" at the focus that the stabbings had brought on the area.
"It reinforces a number of negative stereotypes and our community does not deserve that reputation because it's home to so many good people," he said.
"We don't go around committing crimes of this nature."
Mr Newman pointed to the response of members of the public who chased and caught the alleged offender after Mr Naidu was stabbed.
