The Stagecoach bus company has made a big payout to the family of a man who died after apparently being hit by one of its buses, but it has not apologised. Rongfa Jiang's family now plans to take legal action against the bus company, as they question the punishment given to the driver.
Jiang died from severe head injuries after being allegedly swiped from the footpath by a bus.
The driver was sentenced to 40 hours of community service for failing to stop and ascertain injury.
Hao Jiang, the victim's son says people who are cruel to animals in New Zealand get more punishment than the bus driver.
"It appears that in New Zealand the life of a China man is worth less than a dog," he says.
The family's lawyer, Frank Deliu, says the family all along has asked for a more through investigation.
"There were supposedly eight other witnesses on the bus that were never found. So police have said all along they don't have the key witness to pinpoint to show the driver knew what had happened."
On Wednesday morning, the head of Stagecoach arrived with a substantial cheque, enough to cover the family's living costs for most of this year.
But there has been no apology from Stagecoach and there will not be. While the company says it has enormous sympathy for the Jiang family, it says the bus driver involved had never been found accountable for the death by police or by the courts.
That's not good enough for Rongfa Jiang's widow who wants her lawyers to make a diplomatic protest to the Chinese government.
"She now feels justice hasn't been done, so she's going back to her country to see what other support she can get," says Deliu.
Legal action is also planned against Stagecoach. The driver himself is still working for the company, but not driving buses.
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