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Passport: Destination Death
The dream to stay in New Zealand at any price proved too costly for one Sri Laken man. One evening in early June 2000, his plans to remain in the country using a passport belonging to someone else turned horribly wrong and he was stabbed to death.
Moham Raafi Mohamed Fuard was working for a Lower Hutt based taxi company in 1999. He lived in nearby Naenae and had planned to open a company that would import cars into New Zealand.
However he had the problem of only being in New Zealand on a work permit that was rapidly expiring. Trying to avoid leaving New Zealand and his dreams, he applied for refugee status. This was declined in June 1999. He appealed the decision but was again declined in March 2000.
It appeared that he was running out of options and the inevitable was going to happen. Then he recalled a young man that had been his passenger on New Years Eve 1999.
The youth had noticed the name Mohamed on Fuard’s license I.D. This had begun a conversation about the passenger’s father, who was Muslim and also had the name Mohamed. Moham Fuard set about locating the young man which the intention of purchasing his New Zealand passport.
The passenger that New Years Eve had been Francis Riaz Rauf, a younger man then Fuard with similar looks. When Fuard located him they talked about buying Rauf’s passport for a large sum of money. Fuard also offered Rauf a job and a car. Both agreed and the deal seemed secured. Rauf would get the money, car and job and Fuard would get the passport which would allow him the either remain in New Zealand or seek residency in another country.
However when Rauf was unable to locate his passport both parties saw their dreams slipping through their fingertips. The men became frustrated and threats were made from Fuard to Rauf and his family.
Rauf also became aggressive and after two meetings on the Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th June he decided to teach Fuard a lesson.
Borrowing a knife from his sister’s flat, Francis Rauf sharpened it and hid it in his gumboot. He planned to rob Fuard and scare him into leaving Rauf’s family alone.
Rauf and Fuard met up around 8pm on Thursday the 8 June 2000, outside a block of flats in Randwick Crescent, Moera. Rauf draw his weapon from his gumboot and stabbed Moham Fuard at least twice, once directly through the heart.
Francis Rauf fled the scene along the railway tracks and with the help of family showered, changed and disposed of the weapon and soiled clothes. He confessed 3 days later during a police interview.
Moham Raafi Mohamed Fuard managed to exit his car, following the attack and staggered down the driveway. Looking for help he approached a man waiting in a van. He then collapsed and was rushed to Wellington Hospital. He died soon after arriving.
In the High Court in Wellington on 23 March 2001, the jury that had heard the events returned to the court with a verdict of Manslaughter. They had accepted that Francis Rauf had been provoked into the killing by Fuard.
Rauf’s family approached the court and asked that Rauf be sentenced to a 10 year Marae based programme but were declined.
Francis Riaz Rauf was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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The dream to stay in New Zealand at any price proved too costly for one Sri Laken man. |
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