A Melbourne delivery rider was stabbed to death while working in the city centre, prompting fears among gig workers about their safety and leaving his family without its main source of income.
Jianming Feng, 47, was with another rider on Friday when they confronted a man allegedly tampering with their bicycles. A 51-year-old man is alleged to have stabbed both riders during the ensuing altercation.
Mr Feng died at the scene, while his 34-year-old colleague was taken to hospital. The alleged attacker was arrested and interviewed by police on Saturday but has not been charged.
Floral tributes and messages were placed near Melbourne’s State Library over the weekend, with some expressing sympathy for Mr Feng’s family and others voicing anger over safety in the city. Messages included “city of criminal” and “Asian lives matter”.
Hundreds of people gathered near the tributes for a vigil on Saturday evening. Christina Zhao, head of the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association, said the death had deeply affected Mr Feng’s fellow riders.
She said delivery workers had repeatedly raised concerns about their safety and were now frightened to enter the city.
“(Riders) say we need to care about their safety, the security, we’ve been saying that for many, many, many, many years … obviously people are scared,” Ms Zhao said.
“Lots of … people say, ‘I don’t want to go to the city anymore’.”
“We want to see what the government does. What are the actual actions to protect the city?”
Mr Feng, originally from China’s Shaanxi Province, had lived in Australia for about nine years. His wife, Xu, their four parents and two children all relied on his work.
Ms Zhao said news of his death had reverberated through gig worker communities in China, Japan and Korea.
A fundraiser established by the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association has raised almost 180,000 Australian dollars to help with emergency travel and funeral costs for the family.
Food delivery company HungryPanda said it was helping with visa arrangements, funeral expenses, financial support and insurance.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and the wider rider community,” the company said in a statement.
“Our thoughts are also with the rider injured in the incident.”
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said his thoughts were with Mr Feng’s family and acknowledged the vulnerability of many people working in the gig economy.
“We do know that often people in the gig economy, are some of the most vulnerable Victorians,” Mr Carroll said.
