Halatau Naitoko's family will bury him in his uniform so that he can begin work when he gets to 'the other side'. Photo / Supplied
Halatau Naitoko will be buried tomorrow wearing a driver's uniform so he can begin work when he gets to the other side, his family says.
Family spokesman Peter Sykes said yesterday that colleagues of the hard-working teen had come to pay their respects, bringing courier uniforms for him
to be buried with - one of which he would be wearing.
"I think he's got about three uniforms so when he gets to the other end of the journey he'll get straight into work."
Mr Naitoko was also given T-shirts by his friends so he could take the "street story" with him, Mr Sykes said.
He said Police Commissioner Howard Broad's encouragement for the armed offenders squad officers to visit Mr Naitoko's relatives had been welcomed by the family. But the family would wait until after Mr Naitoko had been farewelled before any meeting.
"It's a bit raw for them to come while Halatau's here," Mr Skyes said.
"We don't want to make a focus on them, we want to greet them as people."
Between 600 and 1000 people have been visiting the family's Mangere home each day.
Mr Naitoko's mother Ivoni Fuimaono is hopeful that the son she was due to give birth to - who will be named after his brother - would arrive after the funeral. "We don't have any control over that," Mr Sykes said.
A traditional Tongan funeral service for the family will get under way tonight, followed by a public funeral at the family home at 10am tomorrow. A burial service at Mangere Lawn Cemetery will follow.
