KEY POINTS:
A grieving family said goodbye to a loving husband and father with a big smile today as three men appeared in court charged in connection with his slaying.
Today, a few hours before a huge crowd of mourners, mostly from the Indian community, gathered at the Manukau Memorial Gardens cemetery, police said they had arrested three men and were hunting two more.
Anitelea Chan Kee, 20, and Tino Faamele Felise, 17, both faced three charges of murdering Mr Singh, armed robbery and aggravated robbery.
The third man, Mefiposeta Chan Kee, 24, was charged with being an accessory after the killing. The crown alleges that knowing Anitelea Chan Kee had been involved in murder he disposed of packaging from alcohol taken from the shop to enable Kee to avoid arrest.
He was also charged that knowing Anitelea Chan Kee had been involved in an aggravated robbery, he disposed of a .22 calibre rifle to enable Kee to evade arrest.
All three were remanded in custody until August 6 for a pre-depositions hearing.
In the Manukau District Court today, crown prosecutor Richard Marchant told the court Anitelea Chan Kee had admitted to police to being at the scene.
Tino Famele Felise, a 28-year-old of no known occupation, also appeared in Manukau District Court this morning charged with murder and robbery.
Mefiposeta Chan Kee, a car groomer, aged 25, had not seen a duty solicitor and was stood down after briefly appearing in court.
He reappeared this afternoon charged with being an accessory and disposing of a .22 calibre rifle and a quantity of cardboard alcohol packaging to avoid the arrest of Anitelea Chan Kee.
Two other people wanted in connection with Mr Singh's death are still on the run.
Felise's lawyer Paul Borich applied for image suppression saying the investigation was still in its early stages and his client had denied any involvement in the killing.
Mr Borich said the police case against his client was that he was the getaway driver.
He said even a pixelated image could identify Felise's height and build and therefore could prejudice evidence given by a witness at a later date.
Mr Marchant said while Felise denied involvement "statements made by co-accused" linked him to the crime.
In a discussion around name and image suppression Mr Marchant said co-accused Anitelea Chan Kee had admitted to his involvement in the crime.
Judge David Harvey gave image suppression to Felise but said no name suppression would be granted.
A large number of supporters for the accused were also in court.
Only one of those arrested was alleged to have been in the shop at the time of the shooting. Two others who were inside are still on the run.
Murder investigation head Detective Inspector Jim Gallagher told media this morning the pair would "now know that the game is up and need to realise now is the time to give up".
"They are advised to make themselves known to police and avoid making a bad situation worse," he said.
Police also believe they have now recovered parts of the rifle used in the attack.
Mr Gallagher said police had executed five search warrants in the early hours of this morning - one in Mt Albert and the rest in Counties/Manukau suburbs.
"We've recovered important evidence, including ammunition and some clothing items believed to have been worn during the attack on Mr Singh," Mr Gallagher said.
"We're still speaking to people who we believe are of assistance to the inquiry although no further arrests have been made since earlier this morning."
Police, backed up by the armed offenders squad, arrested the three men during overnight raids in areas including Manurewa and Mt Albert.
They also arrested a fourth person for possession and supply of cannabis.
"We're looking into those arrested, tracking their movements, what they've been up to and who with," Mr Gallagher said.
The three were from Mt Albert, Otara, and Manurewa - but not the Randwick Park area of the suburb were the shooting occurred, he said.
When asked if drugs were thought to be a factor in the crime, Mr Gallagher told reporters that would be speculation.
But he added: "We can make speculative guesses that alcohol might have been a factor because they seemed hell bent on getting more".
Mr Gallagher declined to comment on whether the arrested had any gang connections.
Asked if they were thought to be connected to other armed robberies in the Manurewa area he said: "We're looking very closely at what else these individuals have done in terms of crimes in that category."
Police are still looking for the goods stolen from the shop including "a paltry sum of money" and the firearm used to shoot Mr Singh. A large number of telephone cards were also in the till.
But they have located a black Mazda Astina hatchback vehicle, registration number XK4944, which they were searching for.
Police are also still looking for a white 4x4 vehicle that was driven from the scene of the shooting at speed.
Relief at arrests
Mr Gallagher said Mr Singh's family were relieved to have been told of the arrests late last night.
"There's a great sense of relief as I'm sure there is for the wider community."
He said the three were "no longer walking amongst decent people".
In a statement issued earlier, police thanked the community for its help with the investigation into the shooting, but said more was needed.
"It is apparent considerably more information is known by a number of people about the persons responsible and police want to hear from them now."
Mr Singh's widow Harjinder Kaur was due to farewell her husband at a funeral today.
Mrs Kaur's grandfather Jagir Singh died yesterday after he was accidentally told of Navtej Singh's death.
The Singh family believes he died from the shock of the news of the shooting which had been kept from him for some time because of his health.
Daljit Singh of the New Zealand Sikh Society said he had been told the elderly man did not stop crying until he died.
Today the council's secretary Verpal Singh said the arrests would go a long way in reassuring the general New Zealand public, specifically the retailers, about the police.
"We appreciate the fact that while the NZ police was being bombarded with all sorts of criticism, some justified and some unjustified, they stayed focused ..."
Mr Singh said the council appealed to retailers to work with the police and take the necessary steps to minimise the possibility of such incidents happening in future.
"It is through working together that we can make New Zealand communities safe for all."
- With NZHERALD STAFF with NZPA
Anyone with information is asked to call 0508 RIVERTON or 0508-748-378.
View stills of the CCTV footage
Video: Security footage of the shooting
Video: Customers watch injured man over counter
