HungryPanda murder: The gig economy must be strongly regulated and its workers protected.

Written by: Nick G. on 10 November 2026

(Above: Hundreds attended the rally for Feng Jianming.  Source: Instagram)

The murder of HungryPanda delivery rider, and serious wounding of another, has again raised questions about both the vulnerability of delivery riders to personal danger, and the inadequacy of mental health services.

In February, we covered the case of HungryPanda delivery riders who were taking strike action in Sydney over wages and conditions. There were allegations that Chinese police had intimidated the families of some of the delivery riders back home in China. Our article included extensive details of the ownership of HungryPanda and the role of international finance capital in its ownership and organisation.

Feng Jianming, 54, was stabbed to death by 51-year old Robert Urbano following his interference with the bikes the two delivery riders had left outside a Melbourne restaurant.  They intervened to stop damage to their bikes when Urbano turned on them with his knife.

Urbano has now appeared in court to face charges relating to the death and injury. The court was hearing details of Urbano’s schizophrenia diagnosis when he stood on a chair in his holding room, pulled his pants down and exposed himself to the camera.

Urbano’s mental health is symptomatic of the lack of support for persons who require professional health and psychiatric support. His actions come in the wake of the attack on Helen Haines MP. In our article on that event, we accused the government of gutting mental health services and echoed criticisms by 2010 Australian of the Year Professor Pat McGorry:

Even if the tooth fairy could wave a magic wand over the empty heads in government and opposition benches and see a release of needed funding, the fundamental approach to mental health under capitalism will not improve.

The ethics of bourgeois psychology upon which mental health services rest, treats patients at the crisis stage. As McGorry said, it is the “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” approach which has been allowed to develop through the absence of preventative approaches which could have prevented the reaching of the critical stages.  

It deals with crises as the failings of the individual and as the personal problem of the individual, rather than as the failings of capitalist society and the social problems of the system as a whole.

The answer is not to institutionalise those with manageable mental health problems, but to ensure they have professional support, preferably within the families and communities in which they live.

No doubt chastened by the controversy over the February 2026 HungryPanda delivery riders’ strike, HungryPanda has promised to arrange visas and travel for Feng’s family to come to Australia for his funeral.

The company has been accused by its workers of fining them if the delivery is lost or stolen, forcing them to compromise their safety to protect company profits.  They are forced to get to their destinations as quickly as possible in order to make enough money for themselves, and more for the company. The whole gig economy is a ruthless frontline of capitalist exploitation.

Meantime, there has been an outpouring of support from all sections of the community for Feng, including a large and emotional rally outside the State Library last Saturday night, and an online fundraiser for Feng’s family which has exceeded $420,000 in donations. 

State and city authorities have lived up to Professor McGorry’s criticism of capitalism’s “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” approach.

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has vowed to make "whatever changes are necessary" following Feng’s fatal stabbing and Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece, who attended the vigil, said he had spoken with HungryPanda management and offered to hold a roundtable to discuss safety conditions for delivery riders in the city.

They must be held to these offers, and the actions should include a discussion of community mental health services as well as matters relating to traffic management and pressures on delivery workers to meet management demands on schedules and efficiency.

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