Shivneel Kumar believes not enough action is being taken to make criminals be accountable for the damage they cause. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The son of a dairy owner who was killed in 2014 says the justice system is wasting money on criminals and ignoring the victims.
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Arun Kumar, 57, was stabbed to death after a botched robbery at the Railside Dairy in Henderson, Auckland.
The offenders, then aged 12 and 13, wanted cash from the till and cigarettes.
"It would have been 100 bucks in the till," his son Shivneel Kumar told First Up.
"Is that what his life was worth? Is that what my father's life was worth? You tell me ... a couple of cigarettes ... are they worth a life? No."
In an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Justice Minister Kiri Allan, Shivneel said he was horrified history had repeated itself with the fatal stabbing of dairy worker Janak Patel last week.
The recent death was "a stark reminder that not enough action has been taken to prevent this again", Shivneel said.
"Law-abiding citizens, business owners, and community members continue to be collateral damage and time and time again there is no accountability for the damage to people's livelihoods.
"In my dad's trial, the youth who was responsible walked free, despite having killed a man, all because he had a 'troubled' past."
Shivneel feared a lack of consequences for serious crimes had contributed to an increase in aggravated robberies and ram raids.
Criminals need to be 'adequately punished' - Shivneel Kumar
Shivneel Kumar has written an open letter to Justice Minister Kiri Allan and the prime minister calling for the government to get tougher on crime. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Shivneel still remembers the day his father was killed. He was due to help his parents in the dairy on 10 June, 2014 when police called to say there had been an incident.
Once he got to the shop, he was told his dad had been killed.
"Mum was there and she was crying and then everything just kind of settling in and everything after that was a blur really."
The under-age offenders were captured on CCTV entering the dairy armed with a pole and a knife.
The court found the older boy guilty of manslaughter but the younger boy was cleared. The convicted boy, who suffered a number of disabilities, was released from a youth justice facility in 2017.
He was jailed for six years, but his sentence was later reduced on appeal.
"He was literally just living down the road from us and we couldn't do anything about it."
New Zealand's justice system was turning the country into a breeding ground for youth crime, he said.
"No one is suggesting we move from community service to capital punishment, but we need to acknowledge the correlation between harsher penalties and lower crime rates to even begin to address the issue.
"If a person is arrested for aggravated robbery, assault or anything that threatens a human life, they should be adequately punished, not given a free pass to a second chance with no consequences."
In a statement, Justice Minister Kiri Allan said she welcomed Shivneel's ideas and passion for change.
Her office was working on a response, but penalties remained harsh for aggravated offences, Allan said.
Te Atatū MP Phil Twyford plans to meet with Shivneel soon.