‘We get afraid coming to work now’
working in the store at the time of the latest robbery.
‘‘They took all the cash from the till, they took cigarettes and in the end they got everything and kicked my nephew’s nose so he was badly hurt,’’ Patel said.
Patel said his nephew’s father had died three years ago and they were helping care for the teenager.
‘‘That’s all responsibility on my shoulders.
‘‘If they hit me, I don’t care. I’ve been hit twice and I don’t get angry. ‘‘But this time it’s my nephew.’’ In 2011 Patel’s cheek was slashed with a knife during a robbery at the store. Jackson Daniel Skipper, 21, was jailed later that year for the crime.
Then in December, 2016, Patel’s wife, Tinu Patel, had a hammer held to her head when the shop was once again targeted by criminals.
Nobody was arrested for that incident, which made the family anxious.
‘‘We get afraid coming to work now.’’
Patel said the family now felt trapped and wondered how they were going to bounce back.
‘‘We don’t have options, so if we sell the shop how are we going to survive?’’
New Zealand Indian Central Association vice-president Paul Patel visited the mini mart on Tuesday to see how the family was doing after yet another attack.
He said he believed dairy robberies had escalated of late.
‘‘I think the type of attack is changing. There is disregard for the people behind the counter.’’
Paul Patel said they were organising a meeting so shop and dairy owners could discuss the issue.
‘‘The children, the wives of the shopkeepers, their grandparents and brothers and sisters, they are all concerned.’’
He said any time a shop was robbed it wasn’t just that particular store that was affected, but the whole community.
‘‘The owners go out of their way to serve their little communities that their stores are based in and a very high per cent of the community are no problem.
‘‘But once in a while we get these things.’’
Former Central Economic Development Agency chief executive officer Will Samuel has previously said there were multiple ways a robbery could have an impact on a small business.
‘‘The interruption, loss of stock, and people are left out of pocket. It also affects their ability to trade in the future.’’
He said businesses needed to do what they could to protect themselves.
There were many insurances available to businessess, including business interruption insurance and for loss of stock.
In a statement, Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Sheridan said police believed the offenders were young men or youths.
He said one shopper was in the dairy at the time. The person was not injured and was helping police with their investigation.
A scene examination had taken place and police were reviewing CCTV footage.
Such incidents were taken seriously and police were doing extra patrols in the area, Sheridan said.
Detective Sergeant Dave Wishnowsky said it was likely the offenders would be trying to sell cigarettes for a discounted rate. He asked anyone offered discounted cigarettes to contact Palmerston North police on 06 351 3600.