A family is without their lifeline and gig workers are fed up after a delivery rider was stabbed to death on the job.
Jianming Feng, 47, and another rider confronted a man tampering with their bikes in Melbourne’s city centre on Friday.
In an ensuing altercation, a 51-year-old is alleged to have stabbed both riders.
Mr Feng died at the scene while his 34-year-old colleague was taken to hospital.
Mourners left floral tributes and notes near Melbourne’s state library over the weekend in Mr Feng’s memory.
Some cards expressed sympathy for his family, while others vented grave frustrations with messages such as "city of criminal" and "Asian lives matter".
Christina Zhao, head of the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association, said Mr Feng's passing had weighed heavily on his colleagues.
Hundreds gathered near the tributes for a vigil late on Saturday.
Many held serious concerns about their safety while doing their jobs and had tried to voice those fears in the past, Ms Zhao said.
“(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,” she 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 been in Australia for about nine years.
His wife, Xu, their four parents, and two children all relied on his hard work to get by at home.
The news of Mr Feng's death was reverberating around gig worker communities in China, Japan and Korea as well, Ms Zhao said.
A GoFundMe fundraiser set up by the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association has raised almost $180,000 to help Mr Feng's family with emergency travel and funeral expenses.
Food delivery company HungryPanda said it was assisting the family 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."
The 51-year-old man allegedly involved in the altercation was arrested and interviewed by police on Saturday. He is yet to be charged.
Premier Ben Carroll said his heart went out to Mr Feng and his family.
"We do know that often people in the gig economy … are some of the most vulnerable Victorians," Mr Carroll said on Sunday.
