SUNSHINE residents will join together in recognising the life and tragic death of a Sunshine woman killed on her way to work almost two months ago – a death that many hope will be a catalyst for a safer Sunshine.
Residents have planned a candlelight vigil for this Sunday, 6 May, as a mark of respect to 54-year-old Heip Thi Nguyen, a reclusive textile worker who police believe moved to Australia from Vietnam in the 1990s.
Ms Nguyen was run down in a car park on her way to work in West Footscray on Saturday 3 March, and her body was found dumped 200 metres away on a pavement in Whitty St early that morning.
Police have struggled to find anyone who knew Ms Nguyen. They say she has no relatives living in Australia, but they have been searching for a dark sports utility vehicle that was seen near the body on the morning she was killed.
A member of the homicide squad involved in the case said that several four-wheel-drives had been investigated, but no clues had been found.
Police are still treating the case as a hit-and-run fatal accident, and the major collision investigations unit is now leading the investigation.
Peta Brooks, who lives opposite Ms Nguyen’s home, in Devonshire Rd, said she never had the chance to meet the deceased woman, who she said had come to Australia looking for a better life.
“The isolation has really touched me,” she said.
“There was a time, a few weeks after the event and living across the road, I saw a Salvation Army truck pull up and remove all the things from the house,” Ms Brooks said. “I just found that really really sad.
“I thought, it’s so easy for us all to get on with our lives and forget that this ever happened.”
In an effort to make sure Ms Nguyen’s life is not forgotten, members of the community, including the Sunshine Residents and Ratepayers Association (SunRRA), organised community show-of-strength
Event organiser Sean Spencer said the sense of isolation that some of these newly arrived migrants must feel is incredibly sad, and often overlooked by the wider community.
“We wanted to do something just as a starting point to try break down some of the barriers in our community,” Mr Spencer said last week.
But Ms Nguyen’s death and this weekend’s vigil are also chances to draw attention to Sunshine’s high crime rate.
From Page 1.
“At some point we want to draw a line in the sand and say that we’re not willing to have violence in our community and just let it go unnoticed,” said Mr Spencer.
“Hopefully these sort of events might increase awareness about violence in our community,” he said.
Western suburbs community worker Les Twentyman will speak at this Sunday’s vigil, which will be held from 6pm at Sunshine’s Wheelahan Gardens on Devonshire Rd.
People are asked to bring their own candles, warm clothes, rugs and wet-weather gear if necessary.
