The Dairy and Business Owner’s Group Incorporated believes Frederick Hobson’s guilty plea for the callous and despicable murder of Janak Patel will at least save Mr Patel’s family the trauma of a trial.

That said, a guilty plea is used by criminals to get a “discount” on the sentence that will follow. This will be for murder and aggravated robbery.

There is no “discount” for the Patel family and the many friends of Janak Patel. For them, they face a whole of life sentence for the hole that Janak’s murderer created in their hearts. We hope the judge, at sentencing, does put this murderer behind bars for the maximum amount that will no doubt be appealed.

For 2023, we have confirmation that violent acts against retailers increased 20% on 2022 and are up 121% since 2015. In 2023, almost seven retailers and retail workers a day were assaulted at work. This includes acts tantamount to attempted murder.

New Zealand is becoming a more violent society. That is the national discussion we must start having.

We thank the many New Zealanders who showed their moral and financial support for the Patel family. We also thank Police for successfully bringing Janak Patel’s murderer to justice.

Our hearts still ache for this needless act of violence.

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