Papa is now with God, widow tells her children

Hiren Mohini. Photo / Jason Dorday

The wife of slain Auckland taxi driver Hiren Mohini sobbed yesterday as she described the moment she told her two young daughters their father was not coming home.

Speaking about the tragedy for the first time, Falguni Mohini paid tribute to her "loving and caring" husband, who was stabbed to death by a passenger last Sunday morning.

Falguni said she had kept the gruesome details of the murder from her two daughters, Yashvi, 5, and Hetvi, 3.

Hiren's lifeless body was found slumped over the wheel of a cab in View Rd, Mt Eden, with stab wounds to his head and chest.

"We told them Papa has gone to stay with God, but that is still hard for them to understand," she said.

"Both children are so young and innocent so we are taking it slowly, day by day. But we told them his soul is free.

"It is hard to deal with this in our culture, it is not a natural death but we can't explain to the kids how it happened. The youngest one is too young to fully understand.

"I still can't believe that this has happened. I still think Hiren will come home - I keep thinking it's not Hiren, it's someone else who died."

The couple wed in an arranged marriage in their hometown of Mumbai, India, in 2001.

They came to New Zealand two years later in search of a "better life, better prospects".

Hiren, 39, who had given up his job as an accountant for Shell in India, initially struggled to find work in New Zealand, taking a job as a lawn mower contractor for Green Acres.

He later found work with Auckland Co-op Taxis where he would routinely do 13-hour shifts.

Falguni, a devout Hindu who worked as a quality control chemist in India, continued: "He was a hard working, kind man who loved his family. He would work harder, longer hours to support his family."

Despite the tragedy, she was committed to raising her children in New Zealand.

"Hiren felt strongly about this country - he really loved it. Both our daughters were born here. New Zealand is our home now so we have to respect Hiren's sentiment so we want to stay."

She said she worried about her husband being in a car accident but never imagined he would be attacked on the job.

"Hiren was never the type to fight for money. He would let it go if people didn't pay. Sometimes customers might run away without paying any money ... but never an attack."

Falguni revealed her husband had managed to activate a panic button in the taxi before he died - and called on the Government to provide better security for taxi drivers.

Meanwhile, police last night widened their appeals to the Asian community in South Auckland for any information that would lead them to Hiren's killer.

They have released footage of a man walking down Queen St in central Auckland moments before Hiren collected a passenger from SkyCity soon after 1am last Sunday.

The man was carrying a royal blue bag with a black synthetic shoulder strap.

It had a white logo featuring the capital letters D and A above the words Dicon Aibi.

Detective Senior Sergeant Hywel Jones said the pictured man was "of great interest".

"The reason we think it's a person of interest is we found the bag blood-stained near the scene. CCTV footage reveals the person was carrying a similar bag and he was at the right place at the right time."

Police have received several calls since the image was released and Jones renewed pleas for witnesses to help trap the "dangerous killer".

Falguni also appeals for help. "Nothing will bring Hiren back, but we just hope that Hiren's life is not wasted.

"We don't want any other families to have to suffer what we have been through."