The son of a Cambodian woman who was stabbed 150 times when she refused to babysit for her neighbour has forgiven his mother's recently released killer.
Janine Rongonui was initially jailed for life for murdering mother of two Pheap Im in her home in the Wellington suburb of
Miramar in 1998.
The conviction was reduced to 10-1/2 years for manslaughter on appeal.
Mrs Im, 34, was tortured for her bankcard details before being stabbed and kicked to ensure she was dead.
Her children, then aged 12 and 14, returned from school to find their home ransacked and their mother dead and covered in blood.
Rongonui, now 43, was eligible for parole three years ago, but the Parole Board kept her in jail saying she was at risk of reoffending.
She had to be freed in September but was released earlier this month under strict conditions in the care of a mental health provider.
Mrs Im's son, who did not want to be named, said he wanted his mother's killer to serve her full sentence but had forgiven her.
"I have, because part of me and part of what I believe is you have to forgive. It's sometimes hard, but as a Christian you want to forgive people's mistakes," he told The Dominion Post.
He and his sister were brought up by their father after their mother's death.
He said he still thinks of his mother regularly and "she's in our hearts".
Rongonui was found to have severe depression and to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the killing.
She suffered brain damage from physical abuse and had the intelligence level of a child.
She has been released under residential restrictions, formerly home detention, for next three months and must remain at the same address at all times. After that, she must stay at the same address under a weekend curfew.
- NZPA
