HungryPanda rider Feng ‘worked in the rain, delivering from morning until dark’ – until he was allegedly murdered

Lee has stopped at Frederick Way in Melbourne in the middle of her shift for HungryPanda on Monday afternoon.

She puts her palms together and bows, lowering her head towards the memorial of flowers and popular Chinese drinks. She’s praying for her fellow delivery rider Feng Jianming, who was allegedly murdered in a stabbing on Friday night.

“I couldn’t accept it at first,” says Lee, who is in her 50s and requested her surname not be published.

Speaking in Cantonese, she says she knew Feng personally, and she wants to say hello to her old friend. They would sometimes work the morning shift together.

“He was always very frugal and thrifty, doing his best to be fast,” Lee says.

“We work in the rain, delivering from early morning until dark. Often, if we aren’t careful, the food gets stolen, or our vehicles get ticketed.”

The alleged stabbing murder of HungryPanda rider Feng, while he was working, has reverberated through Melbourne’s gig worker, Chinese business and international student communities. Ahead of the Victorian election at the end of the month – where crime is a key battlefront – it has sharpened the focus on public safety in the city.

Feng and another delivery rider confronted a man who was allegedly tampering with their bikes on Frederick Way, near the Queen Victoria Market, just after 8pm on Friday, Victoria police said.

Feng died at the scene after the alleged altercation. The second rider, aged 34, was hospitalised with serious injuries.

On Monday morning, police charged a 51-year-old Footscray man with one count of murder and intentionally causing serious injury. He remains in custody.

‘It’s not a safe city’

Feng, a 47-year-old Chinese national from Shaanxi province, had lived in Melbourne for nine years. His wife, Xu Hongfeng, told Nine newspapers that her husband, who was the breadwinner for his family back home, had planned to return home in a few years when their son gets married.

Christina Zhao, the head of the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association, which has raised more than $400,000 to assist Feng’s family, says business owners are “scared”.

“Melbourne is still a city we love. But I just hope you know government can take action,” she says.

Melbourne’s CBD is home to a significant international student population.

HungryPanda, an international food delivery company founded in the UK, targets the Chinese expatriate market in 10 countries. In Australia, it operates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Jingqi Sun, the president of the University of Melbourne’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), says Chinese international students have expressed fear after the alleged stabbing death.

“It’s important to protect our community … because safety is a basic human right.”

Evelyn Zou has lived in Australia for the past 10 years. Originally from China, she came to study in Australia when she was 15.

“Recently, I feel like Melbourne, it’s not a safe city,” says Zou, who’s been considering moving back to China.

Zou says many Chinese people in the city choose to post about incidents on social media instead of going to the authorities because she doesn’t “think police are going to take actions”.

Victoria police have urged people to report incidents to police after Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat and Rednote have become awash with people posting about their run-ins with crime.

“It’s important that we understand what is happening in the community, and that the only way we can really build trust with our community is for them to come to us, to tell us what’s happening,” Jo Stafford, Victoria police’s assistant commissioner for the north-west metro region, told reporters on Monday.

‘Victorians are incredibly angry’

The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, has vowed to work with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) to ensure gig economy workers are safe.

The TWU said it had received reports that HungryPanda workers were penalised by the company for stolen food orders, prompting concerns that this may have led to the pair confronting the man to protect their income.

But HungryPanda said it did not have a policy automatically requiring riders to compensate for lost or undelivered orders.

“Regardless of the circumstances, no rider should ever feel compelled to put their personal safety at risk to protect their belongings, delivery equipment or food orders,” a statement said.

“Riders will not be penalised for being unable to complete deliveries due to genuine safety concerns.”

The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, said the “heartbreaking” death of Feng should not have happened on Melbourne’s streets.

“I know that Victorians are incredibly angry, but that’s why we have a focus on getting tough on crime,” she said.

Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency in September released data for the year ending 30 June, showing the state’s overall crime rate had dropped by 3.8%. But police at the time maintained crime in Victoria remained “unacceptably high” compared with three years earlier.

The TWU’s national secretary, Michael Kaine, said WorkSafe Victoria should investigate whether HungryPanda had met its legal obligations to minimise the risk to food delivery riders while working. A WorkSafe spokesperson said it would assess the incident to determine whether there had been any breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and assist Victoria police where appropriate.

HungryPanda said the company continued to mourn the tragic loss of Feng.

“Our deepest condolences remain with his family, friends and the wider rider community. Our thoughts are also with the injured rider,” the company said.

HungryPanda said its immediate priority was assisting Feng’s family.

The company said it was in discussions with the City of Melbourne, the state government and Victoria police to explore a “coordinated approach to rider and community safety”.